[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 126 (Monday, July 1, 2013)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 39461-39491]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-15529]
[[Page 39461]]
Vol. 78
Monday,
No. 126
July 1, 2013
Part III
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
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10 CFR Parts 170 and 171
Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for Fiscal Year 2013; Final
Rule
Federal Register / Vol. 78 , No. 126 / Monday, July 1, 2013 / Rules
and Regulations
[[Page 39462]]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
10 CFR Parts 170 and 171
[NRC-2012-0211]
RIN 3150-AJ19
Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for Fiscal Year 2013
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending the
licensing, inspection, and annual fees charged to its applicants and
licensees. The amendments are necessary to implement the Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act of 1990 (OBRA-90), as amended, which requires the
NRC to recover through fees approximately 90 percent of its budget
authority in Fiscal Year (FY) 2013, not including amounts appropriated
for Waste Incidental to Reprocessing (WIR) and amounts appropriated for
generic homeland security activities. The President signed the
Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2013 on March
26, 2013, giving the NRC a total appropriation of $985.6 million for FY
2013. The NRC's required fee recovery amount for the FY 2013 budget is
approximately $864.0 million. After accounting for billing adjustments,
the total amount to be billed as fees is approximately $859.6 million.
DATES: This final rule is effective on August 30, 2013.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2012-0211 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of information for this final rule. You may
access information related to this final rule, which the NRC possesses
and is publicly available, by any of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2012-0211. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-492-
3668; email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. For technical questions, contact
the individuals listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section
of this final rule.
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may access publicly available documents online in the NRC
Library at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the
search, select ``ADAMS Public Documents'' and then select ``Begin Web-
based ADAMS Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's
Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-
4737, or by email to pdr.resource@nrc.gov. The ADAMS accession number
for each document referenced in this document (if that document is
available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is
referenced. In addition, for the convenience of the reader, the ADAMS
accession numbers are provided in a table in the section of this
document entitled, ``Availability of Documents.''
NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Arlette Howard, Office of the Chief
Financial Officer, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-1481, email: Arlette.Howard@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
II. Response to Comments
III. Final Action
A. Amendments to Part 170 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR): Fees for Facilities, Materials, Import and
Export Licenses, and Other Regulatory Services Under the Atomic
Energy Act of 1954, as Amended
B. Amendments to 10 CFR Part 171: Annual Fees for Reactor
Licenses and Fuel Cycle Licenses and Materials Licenses, Including
Holders of Certificates of Compliance, Registrations, and Quality
Assurance Program Approvals and Government Agencies Licensed by the
NRC
IV. Plain Writing
V. Availability of Documents
VI. Voluntary Consensus Standards
VII. Environmental Impact: Categorical Exclusion
VIII. Paperwork Reduction Act Statement
IX. Regulatory Analysis
X. Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
XI. Backfitting and Issue Finality
XII. Congressional Review Act
I. Background
Over the past 40 years the NRC (and earlier as the Atomic Energy
Commission (AEC), the NRC's predecessor agency), has assessed and
continues to assess fees to applicants and licensees to recover the
cost of its regulatory program. The NRC's cost recovery principles for
fee regulation are governed by two major laws, the Independent Offices
Appropriations Act of 1952 (IOAA) (31 U.S.C. 483(a)) and OBRA-90 (42
U.S.C. 2214), as amended. The NRC is required each year, under OBRA-90,
as amended, to recover approximately 90 percent of its budget
authority, not including amounts appropriated for WIR, and amounts
appropriated for generic homeland security activities (non-fee items),
through fees to NRC licensees and applicants. The following discussion
explains the various court decisions, congressional mandates and
Commission policy which form the basis for the NRC's current fee policy
and cost recovery methodology, which in turn form the basis for this
rulemaking.
Establishment of Fee Policy and Cost Recovery Methodology
In 1968, the AEC adopted its first license fee schedule in response
to Title V of the IOAA. This statute authorized and encouraged Federal
regulatory agencies to recover to the fullest extent possible costs
attributable to services provided to identifiable recipients. The AEC
established fees under 10 CFR part 170 in two sections, Sec. Sec.
170.21 and 170.31. Section 170.21 established a flat application fee
for filing applications for nuclear power plant construction permits.
Fees were set by a sliding scale depending on plant size; for
construction permits and operating license fees, and annual fees were
levied on holders of Commission operating licenses under 10 CFR part
50. Section 170.31 established application fees and annual fees for
materials licenses. Between 1971 and 1973, the 10 CFR part 170 fee
schedules were adjusted to account for increased costs resulting from
expanded services which included health and safety inspection services
and manufacturing licenses and environmental and antitrust reviews. The
annual fees assessed by the Commission began to include inspection
costs and the material fee schedule expanded from 16 to 28 categories
for fee assessment. During this period, the schedules continued to be
modified based on the Commission's policy to recover costs attributable
to identifiable beneficiaries for the processing of applications,
permits and licenses, amendments to existing licenses, and health and
safety inspections relating to the licensing process.
On March 4, 1974, the U.S. Supreme Court rendered major decisions
in two cases, National Cable Television Association, Inc. v. United
States, 415 U.S. 36 (1974) and Federal Power Commission v. New England
Power Company, 415 U.S. 345 (1974), regarding the charging of fees by
Federal agencies. The Court held that the IOAA authorizes an agency to
charge fees for special benefits rendered to identifiable persons
measured by the ``value to the recipient'' of the agency service. The
[[Page 39463]]
Court, therefore, invalidated the Federal Power Commission's annual fee
rule because its fee structure assessed annual fees against the
regulated industry at large without considering whether anyone had
received benefits from any Commission services during the year in
question. As a result of these decisions, the AEC promptly eliminated
annual licensing fees and issued refunds to licensees, but left the
remainder of the fee schedule unchanged.
In November 1974, the AEC published proposed revisions to its
license fee schedule (39 FR 39734; November 11, 1974). The Commission
reviewed public comments while simultaneously considering alternative
approaches for the proper evaluation of expanding services and proper
assessment based upon increasing costs of Commission services.
While this effort was under way, the Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia issued four opinions in fee cases--National Cable
Television Assoc. v. FCC, 554 F.2d 1094 (D.C. Cir. 1976); National
Association of Broadcasters v. FCC, 554 F.2d 1118 (D.C. Cir. 1976);
Electronic Industries Association v. FCC, 554 F.2d 1109 (D.C. Cir.
1976); and Capital Cities Communication, Inc. v. FCC, 554 F.2d 1135
(D.C. Cir. 1976). These decisions invalidated the license fee schedules
promulgated by the Federal Communications Commission, and they provided
the AEC with additional guidance for the prompt adoption and
promulgation of an updated licensee fee schedule.
On January 19, 1975, under the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974,
the licensing and related regulatory functions of the AEC were
transferred to the NRC. The NRC, prompted by recent court decisions
concerning fee policy, developed new guidelines for use in fee
development and the establishment of a new proposed fee schedule.
The NRC published a summary of guidelines as a proposed rule (42 FR
22149; May 2, 1977), and the Commission held a public meeting to
discuss the summary of guidelines on May 12, 1977. A summary of the
comments on the guidelines and the NRC's responses were published in
the Federal Register (43 FR 7211; February 21, 1978).
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld the
Commission's fee guidelines on August 24, 1979, in Mississippi Power
and Light Co. v. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 601 F.2d 223 (5th
Cir. 1979), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 1102 (1980). This court held that--
(1) The NRC had the authority to recover the full cost of providing
services to identifiable beneficiaries;
(2) The NRC could properly assess a fee for the costs of providing
routine inspections necessary to ensure a licensee's compliance with
the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and with applicable
regulations;
(3) The NRC could charge for costs incurred in conducting
environmental reviews required by the National Environmental Policy Act
(42 U.S.C. 4321);
(4) The NRC properly included the costs of uncontested hearings and
of administrative and technical support services in the fee schedule;
(5) The NRC could assess a fee for renewing a license to operate a
low-level radioactive waste burial site; and
(6) The NRC's fees were not arbitrary or capricious.
The NRC's Current Statutory Requirement for Cost Recovery Through Fees
In 1986, Congress passed the Consolidated Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act (COBRA) (H.R. 3128), which required the NRC to
assess and collect annual charges from persons licensed by the
Commission. These charges, when added to other amounts collected by the
NRC, totaled about 33 percent of the NRC's estimated budget. In
response to this mandate and separate congressional inquiry on NRC
fees, the NRC prepared a report on alternative approaches to annual
fees and published the decision on annual fees for power reactor
operating licenses in 10 CFR part 171 for public comment (51 FR 24078;
July 1, 1986). The final rule (51 FR 33224; September 18, 1986)
included a summary of the comments and the NRC's related responses. The
decision was challenged in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals and upheld
in its entirety in Florida Power and Light Company v. United States,
846 F.2d 765 (D.C. Cir. 1988), cert. denied, 490 U.S. 1045 (1989).
In 1987, the NRC retained the established annual and 10 CFR part
170 fee schedules in the Federal Register (51 FR 33224; September 18,
1986).
In 1988, the NRC was required to collect 45 percent of its budget
authority through fees. The NRC published a proposed rule that included
an hourly increase recommendation for public comment in the Federal
Register (53 FR 24077; June 27, 1988). The NRC staff could not properly
consider all comments received on the proposed rule. Therefore, on
August 12, 1988, the NRC published an interim final rule in the Federal
Register (53 FR 30423). The interim final rule was limited to changing
the 10 CFR part 171 annual fees.
In 1989, the Commission was required to collect 45 percent of its
budget authority through fees. The NRC published a proposed fee rule in
the Federal Register (53 FR 24077; June 25, 1988). A summary of the
comments and the NRC's related responses were published in the Federal
Register (53 FR 52632; December 28, 1988).
On November 5, 1990, with respect to 10 CFR part 171, the Congress
passed OBRA-90, requiring that the NRC collect 100 percent of its
budget authority, less appropriations from the Nuclear Waste Fund
(NWF), through the assessment of fees. The OBRA-90 allowed the NRC to
collect user fees for the recovery of the costs of providing special
benefits to identifiable applicants and licensees in compliance with 10
CFR part 170 and under the authority of the IOAA (31 U.S.C. 9701).
These fees recovered the cost of inspections, applications for new
licenses and license renewals, and requests for license amendments. The
OBRA-90 also allowed the NRC to recover annual fees under 10 CFR part
171 for generic regulatory costs not otherwise recovered through 10 CFR
part 170 fees. In compliance with OBRA-90, the NRC adjusted its fee
regulations in 10 CFR parts 170 and 171 to be more comprehensive
without changing their underlying basis. The NRC published these
regulations in a proposed rule for public comment in the Federal
Register (54 FR 49763; December 1, 1989). The NRC held three public
meetings to discuss the proposed changes and questions. A summary of
comments and the NRC's related responses were published in the Federal
Register (55 FR 21173; May 23, 1990).
In FYs 1991-2000, the NRC continued to comply with OBRA-90
requirements in its proposed and final rules. In 1991, the NRC's annual
fee rule methodology was challenged and upheld by the D.C. Circuit
Court of Appeals in Allied Signal v. NRC, 988 F.2d 146 (D.C. Cir.
1993).
The FY 2001 Energy and Water Development Appropriation Act amended
OBRA-90 to decrease the NRC's fee recovery amount by 2 percent per year
beginning in FY 2001, until the fee recovery amount was 90 percent in
FY 2005.
The FY 2006 Energy and Water Development Appropriation Act extended
this 90 percent fee recovery requirement for FY 2006. Section 637 of
the Energy Policy Act of 2005 made the 90 percent fee recovery
requirement permanent in FY 2007.
[[Page 39464]]
In addition to the requirements of OBRA-90, as amended, the NRC was
also required to comply with the requirements of the Small Business
Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996. This Act encouraged small
businesses to participate in the regulatory process, and required
agencies to develop more accessible sources of information on
regulatory and reporting requirements for small businesses and create a
small entity compliance guide. The NRC, in order to ensure equitable
fee distribution among all licensees, developed a fee methodology
specifically for small entities that consisted of a small entity
definition and the Small Business Administration's most common
receipts-based size standards as described under the North American
Industry Classification System (NAICS) identifying industry codes. The
NAICS is the standard used by Federal statistical agencies to classify
business establishments for the purposes of collecting, analyzing, and
publishing statistical data related to the U.S. business economy. The
purpose of this fee methodology was to lessen the financial impact on
small entities through the establishment of a maximum fee at a reduced
rate for qualifying licensees.
In FY 2009, the NRC computed the small entity fee based on a
biennial adjustment of 39 percent, a fixed percent applied to the prior
2-year weighted average for all fee categories that have small entity
licensees. The NRC also used 39 percent to compute the small entity
annual fee for FY 2005, the same year the agency was required to
recover only 90 percent of its budget authority. The methodology
allowed small entity licensees to be able to predict changes in their
fees in the biennial year based on the materials users' fees for the
previous 2 years. Using a 2-year weighted average lessened the
fluctuations caused by programmatic and budget variables within the fee
categories for the majority of small entities.
The agency also determined that there should be a lower-tier annual
fee based on 22 percent of the maximum small entity annual fee to
further reduce the impact of fees. In FY 2011, the NRC applied this
methodology which would have resulted in an upper-tier small entity fee
of $3,300, an increase of 74 percent or $1,400 from FY 2009, and a
lower-tier small entity fee of $700, an increase of 75 percent or $300
from FY 2009. The NRC determined that implementing this increase would
have a disproportionate impact upon small entity licensees and
performed a trend analysis to calculate the appropriate fee tier
levels. From FY 2000 to FY 2008, $2,300 was the maximum upper-tier
small entity fee and $500 was the maximum lower-tier small entity fee.
Therefore, in order to lessen financial hardship for small entity
licensees, the NRC concluded that for FY 2011, $2,300 should be the
maximum upper-tier small entity fee and $500 should be the lower-tier
small entity fee.
II. Response to Comments
The NRC published the FY 2013 proposed fee rule on March 7, 2013
(78 FR 14880), to solicit public comment on its proposed revisions to
10 CFR parts 170 and 171. By the close of the comment period (April 8,
2013), the NRC received responses from nine commenters that were
considered in this final rulemaking. The majority of the comments were
received from the uranium industry, nuclear power industry, and the
general public. The comments have been grouped by issues and are
addressed in a collective response.
A. Specific 10 CFR Part 170 Issues
1. Hourly Rate
Comment. The NRC staff received several comments from the uranium
industry, nuclear power industry, and general public concerning the
increase in the hourly rate. Some commenters expressed concern that the
increase in the hourly rate and the large number of hours expended by
the Commission staff on reviews, especially environmental reviews, has
resulted in very large invoices to licensees. One commenter is
concerned that the FY 2013 hourly rate is 16 percent higher than the
rate charged in 2008, twice the rate of inflation since 2008. The
commenter also stated the NRC should be concerned about the impact of
cumulative hourly rate increases on all classes of licensees. One
commenter expressed concern regarding the NRC's lack of cost
containment, which the commenter believes is evident based on the
number of hourly charges leading to 90 percent fee recovery for
escalating uranium recovery activities. Another commenter stated that
the NRC should revise the proposed rule to require more efficient
processing services of services subject to hourly fees since this
proposed rulemaking fails to promote opportunties for cost containment.
The same commenter stated the the NRC should establish typical
timeframes for activities and promote use of deadline and cost
estimates even if preliminary to reduce hourly fees and provide for
more timely actions by the NRC. Another commenter is concerned about
the high hourly rate along with a large number of hours charged which
results in larger invoices. One commenter stated that the NRC should
identify the hourly rate as it pertains to charges for its oversight
staff (direct overhead), the burden rate placed on all onsite staff,
and the burden overhead rate or additional contract staff which is
charged to owners.
Response. Regarding the hourly rate increase and the large number
of hours expended by the Commission staff on reviews, especially
environmental reviews which result in larger invoices due to the lack
of cost containment, the NRC disagrees with this comment. The number of
hours spent on NRC reviews, including environmental reviews, is
commensurate with the complexity of the subject matter and the quality
of the applicant's submittal. The NRC has developed an efficient
process for the review of uranium recovery applications. Time expended
by the staff to review license applications is necessary to ensure that
uranium recovery operations are in compliance with the NRC's
regulations and are protective of public health, safety, and the
environment. The staff has developed strategies to reduce review times,
such as the pre-submission review that have substantially improved
application quality and, consequently, shortens review times. If
industry has further suggestions, the staff is amenable to meeting with
industry in a public forum to discuss details regarding our review
process.
Regarding the comment that the FY 2013 hourly rate is 16 percent
higher than the rate charged in 2008, twice the rate of inflation since
2008, including impact of cumulative hour rate increases on all
licensees, the NRC acknowledges this comment. However, the hourly rate
is not based on the inflation rate but calculated using established fee
methodology in compliance with OBRA-90, as amended, which requires the
NRC recover 90 percent of its budget authority through the collection
of fees assessed to licensees. The NRC is committed to ensuring the
hourly rate, to the maximum extent practicable, reflects the cost of
NRC services to licensees, in a manner which is fair and equitable to
all licensees.
Regarding the comment expressing concern about the lack of cost
containment, the NRC disagrees with this comment. Cost containment is
not a viable option for the NRC because, as stated above, the NRC is
required by law to collect 90 percent of its budget authority through
user fees. The NRC
[[Page 39465]]
staff has implemented efficient review processes to ensure that these
fees are fairly allocated. The staff charges the hours necessary to
complete its actions and makes a considerable effort to only charge
productive hours to a licensee or applicant. Resources expended by the
staff are required to draw the necessary safety and environmental
conclusions. Overall, additional efficiencies can be achieved by closer
NRC and industry coordination prior to application submittal to ensure
high quality applications. Additionally, high quality and complete
responses to requests for additional information also ensure an
efficient and timely review process.
Regarding the comment requesting that the NRC require more
efficient processing services subject to hourly fees, the NRC disagrees
with this comment. As previously mentioned, the staff constantly
searches for methods to increase efficient processing of services, such
as the pre-submission review, which has improved application quality
and review efficiency. The staff also has increased its environmental
review efficiency by using the Generic Environmental Impact Statement
(GEIS), starting its Section 106 cultural and historic resource
consultations earlier, and using alternate approaches to cultural and
historic resource surveys.
In reference to the comment stating that the NRC should provide
typical timeframes for activities, establish deadlines and prepare cost
estimates to reduce hourly fees resulting in timely actions by the NRC,
the staff already provides estimated costs and schedules. The staff has
provided to industry its estimate for completing a new license or
expansion review in January 2011 and May 2013. These estimates were
presented during conferences, the latest being the 2013, National
Mining Association, Uranium Recovery Workshop. The staff also presented
tentative schedules on the NRC's Web site, www.nrc.gov, and updates the
schedules, as needed. Licensees can also expedite the processing of
their applications by ensuring applications submitted are of high
quality and requests for additional information are submitted with
complete information in a timely manner.
Regarding the comment that the NRC should identify the hourly rate
as it pertains to charges for its oversight staff (direct overhead),
the burden rate placed on all onsite staff, and the burden overhead
rate or additional contract staff which is charged to owners, the NRC
disagrees with this comment. The NRC charges one hourly rate to
licensees which is computed by dividing the sum of the recoverable
budgeted resources for mission direct program salaries and benefits,
mission indirect program support, agency corporate support and the
Inspector General (IG), by mission direct full time equivalents (FTE)
hours. The mission direct FTE hours are the product of the mission
direct FTE multipled by the hours per direct FTE. The only budgeted
resources excluded from the hourly rate are those for contract
activities related to mission direct and fee relief activities. See
Section III.A, Amendments to Part 170 of Title 10 of the Code of
Federal Regulations, Table II--Hourly Rate Calculation. Lastly, the
calculation of differing burden rates would be administratively
burdensome and not provide any further benefit to the licensees.
2. Flat Fees
Comment. One commenter stated that the NRC should establish more
flat fees for activities at uranium recovery operations. The same
commenter stated that although the NRC does not have the information
such as number of hours and typical timeframes for routine activities,
the NRC's goal should be to move to flat fees for routine activities.
The commenter further stated that flat fees would allow the industry to
better plan and budget.
Response. The NRC disagrees with these comments. In FY 2012, the
staff considered creating more flat fees but determined it was not
feasible due to the complexity of determining fair and equitable rates
for sites that have significant variances in the work required for
similar regulatory activities. The staff's assessment involved
preparing a list of over 20 amendments and reviews typically undertaken
for uranium recovery licensees and examining costs associated with
these activities. The staff reviewed the data and determined it was
insufficient and more resources would be required to identify specific
tasks and develop corresponding flat fees. In FY 2013, the NRC
continues to operate under a challenging budget environment; therefore,
the NRC staff has delayed this activity in order to focus on other
high-priority program activities. However, the staff will again assess
this possibility in FY 2014.
3. Lack of Invoice Detail
Comment. One commenter stated that the NRC should continue efforts
to provide invoices that contain more meaningful descriptions of the
work done by staff and especially contractors.
Response. The NRC agrees with this comment. In FY 2011, the NRC
requested feedback from industry on a new invoice format to balance the
need for a sufficient level of detail for industry without causing an
undue burden on the NRC or the licensees. Based on the feedback, the
NRC created an invoice for inspection reports which provided the number
of hours charged by pay period (two weeks), a short description of the
activity and an assigned billing code (TAC). Upon request by the
licensee, the NRC can provide more detail which includes the full name
of the NRC staff member including time charged for a specific activity.
The NRC encourages licensees and applicants to contact their assigned
Project Manager if additional detail is required on the work that is
being performed on their behalf.
B. Specific Part 171 Issues
1. Uranium Recovery Fees
Comment. Two commenters expressed concern on how proposed
rulemaking activities contributed to increases in uranium recovery
fees. One commenter stated that the uranium recovery industry has not
seen much rulemaking activity in the past 12 months and requested
estimates of future rulemaking cost-related to uranium recovery
projects be provided to industry. The same commenter stated the
proposed increased fee for 11e(2) disposal incidental to existing
tailing sites is not proportionate to increases for conventional and
heap leach mills, basic In Situ Recovery (ISR) facilities or expanded
ISR facilities all of which slightly exceed 21 percent. Another
commenter noted that the NRC explained increases in uranium recovery
fees are due to rulemaking and licensing board activities, yet they are
unaware of any ongoing rulemaking activities which would justify an
increase in uranium recovery fees.
Response. Regarding the comments on how proposed rulemaking
activities contributed towards increased uranium recovery fees, the NRC
agrees with these comments. The staff planned on undertaking an ISR
rulemaking at the time the budget was developed in FY 2011. However,
due to the FY 2013 Appropriation and sequestration, funds for this
rulemaking have been removed from the budget. The NRC staff has
reflected this reduction in the final annual fees.
Regarding the comment requesting estimates of future rulemaking
costs for the uranium recovery program to be submitted to industry, the
NRC disagrees with this comment. Preliminary estimates for rulemaking
costs submitted for budget formulation and annual fee calculations are
for
[[Page 39466]]
internal use only. Furthermore, these estimates are subject to change
throughout the budget formulation process. Therefore, agency estimates
provided to industry could be inaccurate, until the budget is approved
by Congress.
The FY 2013 budget also includes additional resources for licensing
board activities anticipated for at least five new facility or
expansion applications. Licensing board activities could include
addressing standing and contentions, preparing and responding to
appeals, and providing testimony in various phases of hearings. Since
uranium recovery hearings are contested, these costs are not directly
billed to specific licensees, except if the contested hearing involves
an action related to the U.S. Government's national security-related
initiative. Therefore, the agency must recovery these funds through
annual fees.
In reference to the comment stating the proposed increased fee for
11e(2) disposal incidental to existing tailing sites is not
proportionate to increases for conventional and heap leach mills, basic
in situ recovery facilities or expanded in situ recovery facilities all
of which slightly exceed 21 percent, the NRC disagrees with this
comment. The staff apportions the uranium recovery annual fee based on
the number of licensees in each fee class and on the relative amount of
time required to manage the licensees in each fee class. In addition to
the budgetary resources increase for category 11e(2), the benefit
factor between FY 2012 and FY 2013 had a slight increase due to
operations. The resulting annual fee is the result of this calculation;
however, the staff notes that the annual fee under this class is
significantly lower than those of the other fee classes, except uranium
water treatment facilities.
C. Other Issues
1. Streamlining Processes
Comment. Two commenters stated the NRC should investigate ways to
reduce fees through efficient use of resources and streamlining
regulatory processes, particularly to accomplish legal and policy
imperatives. One commenter stated they can assist the NRC in achieving
streamlining efficiences, budgeting for future initatives, providing
timely results and processing existing license maintenance activities
over new applications if resource constraints limits the NRC's ability
to accomplish these tasks. The same commenter stated they can help the
NRC obtain additonal resources by continued communication with the
Commission or contacting Congress to support additional resources for
uranium recovery. Another commenter requested the information regarding
the subject of design certification requests, in the form of petitions
for rulemaking with designs for certain common features such as central
plants, satellite plants, wells, header houses and ponds, be provided
to the uranium recovery industry. The same commenter stated that upon
receipt of this information, time and costs related to these designs be
described. The commenter also stated use of standardized and pre-
approved designs can streamline the licensing process. One commenter
stated that the NRC ensure that the GEIS and the Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) between the Commission and the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) regarding cooperation on environmental analyses be
effectively implemented in order to provide the promised benefits.
Another commenter stated they are hopeful that the MOU between the BLM
and the NRC will result in greater efficiencies and cost savings to
licensees and applicants. One commenter stated that the NRC has made
little progress in the Section 106 Tribal Consultation Process and has
not issued the high-level, agency-wide Section 106 guidance as promised
in the response to comments in the Federal Register dated June 15,
2012.
Response. Regarding comments concerning ways to reduce fees through
efficient use of resources, the staff's responses in Section II.A,
``Specific 10 CFR Part 170 Issues,'' of this document address this
issue. As discussed in Section II.A, the NRC staff has recently
established efficient licensing processes. Additionally, efficiencies
can be achieved through early and frequent interactions between staff
and applicants and timely, high quality responses to requests for
additional information during the safety and environmental review
processes.
Regarding industry assistance to the NRC in petitioning Congress
for additional resources for uranium recovery and budgeting for future
initiatives, the NRC has sufficient resources necessary to perform its
mission. The budgeted resources allow the NRC staff to prioritize its
uranium recovery work by addressing currently licensed activities first
since these facilities are active and align with our mission of
ensuring health and safety of operating facilities. The NRC then
budgets and reviews new license and expansion applications consistent
with the anticipated number of applications and the uncertainty
associated with scheduled license submissions. The current resources
are sufficient to allow the staff to review 8 to 10 major applications
at any given time. However, the staff has deferred the reviews of
certain expansion and new license applications, the longest of which
was 6 months to focus on other high-priority items. Furthermore,
planned guidance development has been delayed to free resources to
address the top two priorties. As more sites are licensed, the number
of license maintenance activities will increase; thereby, reducing the
number of major applications that can be reviewed at any given time.
The NRC is aware of this situation and will provide resources
commensurate with the uranium recovery workload.
Regarding the comments that design certification requests be
submitted as petitions for rulemaking and streamlining of licensing
regulatory processes to use standardized and pre-approved designs and
to process new applications along with existing applications, the NRC
agrees with the comments. On multiple occasions, the staff has stated
it would entertain a strategy of certifying standard designs as a means
of streamlining the application and review processes for new facilities
or expansions. This can be accomplished by multiple methods. One method
is the design certification where a specific aspect of a uranium
recovery facility is standardized and codified. Reactor designs, for
example, have been certified by the staff and are included in 10 CFR
part 52. However, these designs are incorporated into the regulations
by a rulemaking, which could be requested under 10 CFR part 2. A second
method would involve industry preparing standard designs for certain
aspects of uranium recovery facilities, which are reviewed by the
staff. Afterwards, the staff documents this review in a published
NUREG. Similar to design certifications, this NUREG could be
incorporated by reference into license applications. The staff would be
willing to discuss such certifications in publicly noticed meetings at
industry's request.
In reference to the comments that the NRC is not effectively
implementing the GEIS and the MOU between the BLM to achieve greater
efficiencies and cost savings, the NRC disagrees with this comment. The
staff has effectively utilized the GEIS by referencing the conclusions
in the GEIS, as appropriate, within its site-specific supplemental
EISs. This has reduced the time required to prepare the supplemental
EISs. Furthermore, the MOU between the NRC and the BLM was recently
revised to enhance communication and cooperation between the NRC and
BLM
[[Page 39467]]
staff during the preparation of environmental review documents. This
MOU streamlines the agencies' NEPA and Section 106 review processes by
allowing the agencies to jointly conduct these reviews, prepare one
review document, and, thus, minimize duplication of efforts, whereby,
resulting in greater efficiencies and cost savings to the agency.
Regarding the comment that the NRC first, has made little progress
in the Section 106 Tribal Consultation Process and, second, that the
Tribal consultation guidance has not been issued, the NRC staff
disagrees with the first part of the comment, and agrees with the
second part. Regarding the comment on the progress on the process,
during the Commission Briefing on Uranium Recovery on February 20,
2013, the NRC staff discussed the challenges that the Section 106
process has presented in recent years. The NRC has experienced a
substantial expansion of the Section 106 consultation activities for
the ISR projects. There has been a significant increase in the number
of Native American Tribes interested in each ISR project, from a few
Tribes prior to 2010, to a current average of 20 Tribes per project.
This has resulted in a significant increase in the number and
complexity of consultations and the need for the NRC staff to enhance
its efforts to ensure that historic properties of religious and
cultural significance to the Tribes are identified.
However, the NRC staff recently has made progress and facilitated
Tribal field surveys for four ISR project sites. Furthermore, Tribal
field surveys for two ISR project sites are expected to be completed in
Spring/Summer 2013. As stated in Section A of this document, the staff
also has increased its Section 106 consultation efficiency by starting
its Section 106 cultural and historic resource consultations earlier
and using alternate approaches to cultural and historic resource
surveys.
Regarding the comment on the guidance, the staff agrees that the
high-level Section 106 guidance has not been issued. However, the NRC
staff is currently in the process of developing this high-level Section
106 guidance specific for uranium recovery projects based on knowledge
and experience gained through work efforts on the NRC's Tribal Protocol
Manual and the NRC's Tribal Policy Statement. The NRC staff expects to
issue a draft of the Section 106 guidance for public comment by spring
2014.
2. Education Programs
Comment. One commenter is pleased that the Continuing Resolution
Appropriations restores funding for the Integrated University Program
which was previously cut under the President's FY 2013 budget. The same
commenter stated that this funding ensures that a well trained and
educated nuclear professional will meet the needs of government and
industry.
Response. The NRC agrees that it is effectively managing the
Integrated University Program. The NRC's resources for this program are
recovered as part of its fee-relief activities.
3. Transparency
Comment. One commenter urged the NRC to revise and republish
proposed fees reflecting the actual budget for FY 2013. The same
commenter stated the NRC should follow a consistent and transparent
process for determining and publishing its planned fees. The commenter
further stated that if it requires additional time for the NRC to
republish proposed fees after considering all budget perturbations
forced on the agency by Congress, the NRC should take whatever time
necessary to ensure the basis for its fees is openly and timely
available to all stakeholders. The commenter is concerned that
publishing a proposed fee rule based on one set of circumstances, and a
final fee rule based on another set of circumstances undermines the
whole purpose of the rulemaking process.
Response. The NRC disagrees with these comments. The NRC strives to
ensure proposed fee rulemakings are as accurate as possible in
compliance to the statutory requirements, OBRA-90 and the
Administrative Procedure Act (APA). The OBRA-90 requires the NRC to
collect 90 percent of the budget authority through fees assessed to
licensees by the end of the fiscal year. Section 553 of the APA
requires the NRC to give the public an opportunity to comment on a rule
proposed by the agency before the rule can be put into effect. This
section also requires the effective date of a regulation be not less
than 30 days from the date of publication unless there is a good cause
for implementation at an earlier date. Additionally, this final fee
rule has been designated as a ``major rule'' under the Congressional
Review Act and cannot become effective until 60 days after publication
of the final rule in the Federal Register. Due to schedule
requirements, the NRC will not republish the FY 2013 Proposed Fee Rule,
but will ensure the FY 2013 Final Fee Rule is published in a timely
manner.
4. Fee Structure
Comment. One commenter stated that the NRC should be totally
government funded. Another commenter stated that the current NRC fee
structure creates problems of impartiality where dependence for budget
is based on having more operating nuclear plants to fund the NRC. The
same commenter stated that the current NRC fee structure is too low and
hourly work rates are below those many lawyers and similar
professionals charge. The commenter further stated that a higher hourly
rate is appropriate due to the wide scope of overhead and other work
which stems from inspection work. The same commenter suggested that NRC
should drastically increase the rate for any hourly charged work that
is part of a failure or non-compliance by an operator. The commenter
also stated the NRC is spending considerable amounts of manpower
dealing with the results of poor operator conduct.
Response. The NRC disagrees with these comments. The NRC cannot be
totally government funded without Congress overturning the existing law
that governs the NRC's budget authority which is OBRA-90, as amended.
The OBRA-90, as amended, requires the NRC to collect 90 percent of its
recoverable budget through fees assessed to licensees.
Regarding the comment concerning the NRC fee structure, the NRC
believes the current fee methodology used to compute the hourly rate
fairly distributes the mission direct and indirect costs to all
licensees. The methodology also ensures that the costs of specific
services provided by the NRC staff that benefit specific licensees,
which includes activities associated with noncompliance, are charged to
those licensees who require and/or receive these services by NRC staff
as opposed to imposing these costs on all licensees. The costs
associated with these specific services are assessed in the form of
hourly fees billed for the NRC staff time expended to ensure licensee
compliance to the NRC's regulations.
5. Exemptions
Comment. One commenter stated the NRC should update Sec.
170.11(a)(1)(iii)(B) to read ``The NRC must be the primary beneficiary
of the NRC's review and approval of these documents.'' The same
commenter stated the last sentence should be deleted from this section
because as written, no one could ever receive a fee exemption. Another
commenter stated that the NRC should update Sec. 170.11(a)(1)(iii)(D)
to read,
[[Page 39468]]
``The report should be generically applicable to multiple licensees.
The exemption applies even if the report does not apply to a complete
class of licensees.'' The commenter further stated that this change
will ensure the widest possible use of any report reviewed and endorsed
by the NRC, but still allow a sub-set of a class of licensees.
Response. The NRC disagrees with the comments and believes the
current regulations provide fair treatment to all licensees regarding
the conditions required for exemption approval on request/reports. The
established threshold for consideration of fee exemptions were
developed recognizing that the costs of exempted reviews are recovered
through annual fees to all the licensees in the affected fee class.
The NRC encourages public input through the petition for rulemaking
process which is a system by which any member of the public can request
that the NRC develop, modify, or rescind a regulation. Information on
the petition for rulemaking process is available on the NRC's public
Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/rulemaking/petition-rule.html.
6. Fee Schedules
Comment. One commenter supports the new revision of the fee
schedules for FY 2013 to address inflation and extra expenses. The same
commenter further stated that the NRC, after the Fukushima Dai-ichi
accident in Japan has had to perform more studies, analysis and
inspections to determine the lessons learned and the applicability to
aging U.S. reactors. Another commenter dislikes the new revision of the
fee schedules and stated that the licensees are giving the NRC more
bribe money to overlook incidents at nuclear power plants.
Response. The NRC agrees with the comment supporting the new
revision of the NRC fee schedules. The NRC disagrees with the comment
stating that licensee fees are bribes to the NRC to overlook incidents
at facilities. OBRA-90 and implementing regulations promulgated by the
NRC require licensees to pay fees. The NRC ensures no incident at
nuclear power plant is overlooked and believes the fee schedules
accurately represent the NRC's cost of providing regulatory services to
all licensees. The NRC concludes that neither of these comments warrant
policy changes in 10 CFR part 170 and 171. Therefore, no changes were
made to the final rule in response to these comments.
III. Final Action
The NRC assesses two types of fees to meet the requirements of
OBRA-90. First, user fees, presented in 10 CFR part 170 under the
authority of the IOAA, recover the NRC's costs of providing special
benefits to identifiable applicants and licensees. For example, the NRC
assesses these fees to cover the costs of inspections, applications for
new licenses and license renewals, and requests for license amendments.
Second, annual fees, presented in 10 CFR part 171 under the authority
of OBRA-90, recover generic regulatory costs not otherwise recovered
through 10 CFR part 170 fees. Under this rulemaking, the NRC continues
the fee cost recovery principles through the adjustment of fees without
changing the underlying principles of the NRC fee policy in order to
ensure that the NRC continues to comply with the statutory requirements
of OBRA-90, the AEA, and the IOAA.
FY 2013 Appropriation
On March 26, 2013, President Obama signed the Consolidated and
Further Continued Appropriations Act of 2013, giving the NRC a total
appropriation of $985.6 million. Accordingly, in compliance with the
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and OBRA-90, the NRC is amending
its licensing, inspection, and annual fees to recover approximately 90
percent of its FY 2013 budget authority, less the appropriations for
non-fee items. The amount of the NRC's required fee collections is set
by law and is, therefore, outside the scope of this rulemaking.
FY 2013 Fee Collection
In compliance with the AEA and OBRA-90, the NRC amends its
licensing, inspection, and annual fees to recover approximately 90
percent of its FY 2013 budget authority less the appropriations for
non-fee items. The NRC's total budget authority for FY 2013 is $985.6
million. The non-fee items excluded outside of the fee base includes
$0.8 million for WIR activities and $24.9 million for generic homeland
security activities. Based on the 90 percent fee-recovery requirement,
the NRC is required to recover $864.0 million in FY 2013 through 10 CFR
part 170 licensing and inspection fees and through 10 CFR part 171
annual fees. This amount is $45.5 million less than the amount for
recovery in FY 2012, a decrease of 5.0 percent. The FY 2013 fee
recovery amount increases by $200,000 as a result of billing
adjustments (sum of unpaid current year invoices (estimated) minus
payments for prior year invoices), and reduces by $20.9 million for
unbilled prior year invoices under 10 CFR part 170 and $4.6 million for
current year collections made the termination of two operating
reactors.
Table I summarizes the budget and fee recovery amounts for FY 2013.
The FY 2012 amounts are provided for comparison purposes. (Individual
values may not sum to totals due to rounding.)
Table I--Budget and Fee Recovery Amounts
[Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2012 Final FY 2013 Final
rule rule
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Budget Authority.................. $1,038.1 $985.6
Less Non-Fee Items...................... -27.5 -25.7
-------------------------------
Balance............................. $1,010.6 $959.9
Fee Recovery Rate for FY 2013........... 90% 90%
-------------------------------
Total Amount to be Recovered for FY 2013 $909.5 864.0
10 CFR Part 171 Billing Adjustments:
Unpaid Current Year Invoices 2.3 2.2
(estimated)........................
Less Current Year from Collections 0.0 -4.6
(Terminated--Operating Reactors)...
Less Payments Received in Current -10.8 -2.0
Year for Previous Year Invoices
(estimated)........................
-------------------------------
Subtotal........................ -8.5 4.4
Amount to be Recovered through 10 CFR $901.0 $859.6
Parts 170 and 171 Fees.................
[[Page 39469]]
Less Estimated 10 CFR Part 170 Fees. -345.2 -327.1
-------------------------------
Less Prior Year Unbilled 10 CFR Part -20.9
170 Fees...........................
-------------------------------
10 CFR Part 171 Fee Collections Required $555.8 $511.6
------------------------------------------------------------------------
In this final fee rule, the NRC amends fees for power reactors,
spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning, non-power reactors, uranium
recovery facilities, most fuel facilities, some small materials users,
and the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) transportation license. The
10 CFR part 170 fees decrease by $15.3 million from the proposed fee
rule estimate of $363.3 million primarily due to a reduction in
budgetary resources and licensing actions. As a result of this change,
the total annual fees decrease by $50.1 million from the proposed rule
estimate of $561.7 million. In general, the percentage changes in most
annual fees compared to the previous year are relatively small due to a
decrease in the NRC's appropriation as compared to FY 2012. The FY 2013
appropriation also resulted in a small decrease to the average FTE rate
that is used to calculate the budget allocation to each of the fee
classes and fee-relief activities in this final rule.
The NRC estimates that $348 million will be recovered from 10 CFR
part 170 fees under this final fee rule. This represents an increase of
approximately 0.8 percent as compared to the actual 10 CFR part 170
collections of $345.2 million in FY 2012. The NRC derived the FY 2013
estimate for the 10 CFR part 170 fee collections from the latest
billing data that includes the collection of prior year 10 CFR part 170
unbilled invoices which occurred as result of the adoption of a new
accounting system in October 2010. In October 2012, the NRC became
aware that certain project managers' and resident inspectors'
(including senior resident inspectors) hours were not being billed for
services rendered by the NRC. This error resulted in the NRC under
billing some of its licensees for a total of $20.9 million for the past
eight quarters under 10 CFR part 170. The NRC is statutorily obligated
to collect the appropriate fees for services provided; therefore, the
NRC applied the estimate of this collection of fees to FY 2013 10 CFR
part 170 billings and the FY 2013 annual fees have annually been
adjusted to account for this additional revenue collection. The FY 2013
billing adjustments estimated that the unpaid current year invoices
total $2.2 million and the estimated receipt of payments total $2
million for previous year invoices. Additionally, the billing
adjustments include $4.6 million in the current year collections for
the termination of two operating reactors in FY 2013.
The remaining $511.5 million is to be recovered through the 10 CFR
part 171 annual fees in FY 2013, which is a decrease of approximately 8
percent compared to actual 10 CFR part 171 collections of $555.8
million for FY 2012. The change for each class of licensees affected is
discussed in Section III.B.3, ``Administrative Amendments,'' of this
document.
FY 2013 Billing
The FY 2013 final fee rule is a ``major rule'' as defined by the
Congressional Review Act of 1996 (5 U.S.C. 801-808). Therefore, the
NRC's fee schedules for FY 2013 will become effective 60 days after
publication of the final rule in the Federal Register. Upon publication
of the FY 2013 final fee rule, the NRC will send an invoice for the
amount of the annual fee to reactor licensees, 10 CFR part 72
licensees, major fuel cycle facilities, and other licensees with annual
fees of $100,000 or more. For these licensees, payment is due on the
effective date of the FY 2013 final fee rule. Because these licensees
are billed quarterly, the payment due is the amount of the total FY
2013 annual fee, less payments made in the first three quarters of the
fiscal year.
Materials licensees with annual fees of less than $100,000 are
billed annually. Those materials licensees whose license anniversary
date during FY 2013 falls before the effective date of the FY 2013
final rule will be billed for the annual fee during the anniversary
month of the license at the FY 2012 annual fee rate. Those materials
licensees whose license anniversary date falls on or after the
effective date of the FY 2013 final rule will be billed for the annual
fee at the FY 2013 annual fee rate during the anniversary month of the
license, and payment will be due on the date of the invoice.
FY 2013 Amendment Changes
The NRC is amending 10 CFR parts 170 and 171 as discussed in the
following sections.
A. Amendments to Part 170 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR): Fees for Facilities, Materials, Import and Export
Licenses, and Other Regulatory Services under the Atomic Energy Act of
1954, as Amended.
In FY 2013, the NRC is decreasing the hourly rate to recover the
full cost of activities under 10 CFR part 170 and has used this rate to
calculate ``flat'' application fees.
The NRC is making the following changes:
1. Hourly Rate.
The NRC's hourly rate is used in assessing full cost fees for
specific services provided, as well as flat fees for certain
application reviews. The NRC is changing the current hourly rate of
$274 to $272 in FY 2013. This rate would be applicable to all
activities for which fees are assessed under Sec. Sec. 170.21 and
170.31.
The FY 2013 hourly rate is 0.7 percent lower than the FY 2012
hourly rate of $274. The decrease in the hourly rate is due primarily
to lower agency budgeted resources and by a small increase in the
number of direct FTE. The following paragraphs describe the hourly rate
calculation in further detail.
The NRC's hourly rate is derived by dividing the sum of recoverable
budgeted resources for (1) mission direct program salaries and
benefits; (2) mission indirect program support; and (3) agency
corporate support and the Inspector General (IG), by mission direct FTE
hours. The mission direct FTE hours are the product of the mission
direct FTE multiplied by the hours per direct FTE. The only budgeted
resources excluded from the hourly rate are those for contract
activities related to mission direct and fee-relief activities.
In FY 2013, the NRC used 1,351 hours per direct FTE, a decrease of
1.5 percent from FY 2012, to calculate the hourly fees. The NRC has
reviewed data from
[[Page 39470]]
its time and labor system to determine if the annual direct hours
worked per direct FTE estimate requires updating for the FY 2013 fee
rule. Based on this review of the most recent data available, the NRC
determined that 1,351 hours is the best estimate of direct hours worked
annually per direct FTE. This estimate excludes all indirect activities
such as training, general administration, and leave.
Table II shows the results of the hourly rate calculation
methodology. The FY 2012 amounts are provided for comparison purposes.
(Individual values may not sum to totals due to rounding.)
Table II--Hourly Rate Calculation
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2012 Final FY 2013 Final
rule rule
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mission Direct Program Salaries & $349.9 $345.1
Benefits...............................
Mission Indirect Program Support........ 25.9 19.7
Agency Corporate Support, and the IG.... 472.3 474.8
-------------------------------
Subtotal................................ 848.0 839.6
Less Offsetting Receipts................ -0.0 0.0
-------------------------------
Total Budget Included in Hourly Rate 848.0 839.6
(Millions of Dollars)..............
Mission Direct FTE (Whole numbers)...... 2,258 2,285
Professional Hourly Rate (Total Budget 274 272
Included in Hourly Rate divided by
Mission Direct FTE Hours) (Whole
Numbers)...............................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
As shown in Table II, dividing the FY 2013 $839.6 million budget
amount included in the hourly rate by total mission direct FTE hours
(2,285 FTE times 1,351 hours) results in an hourly rate of $272. The
hourly rate is rounded to the nearest whole dollar.
2. Flat Application Fee Changes
The NRC is adjusting current flat application fees in Sec. Sec.
170.21 and 170.31 to reflect the revised hourly rate of $272. These
flat fees are calculated by multiplying the average professional staff
hours needed to process the licensing actions by the proposed
professional hourly rate for FY 2013.
Biennially, the NRC evaluates historical professional staff hours
used to process a new license application for materials users fee
categories subject to flat application fees. This is in accordance with
the requirements of the Chief Financial Officer's Act. The NRC
conducted this biennial review for the FY 2013 fee rule which also
included license and amendment applications for import and export
licenses.
Evaluation of the historical data in FY 2013 shows that the average
number of professional staff hours required to complete licensing
actions in the materials program should be increased in some fee
categories and decreased in others to more accurately reflect current
data for completing these licensing actions. The average number of
professional staff hours needed to complete new licensing actions was
last updated for the FY 2011 final fee rule. Thus, the revised proposed
average professional staff hours in this final fee rule reflect the
changes in the NRC licensing review program that have occurred since
that time.
This final rule also includes three new fee categories, 2.D.
through 2.F, and a modified description of fee category 2.C., which
were not included in the proposed fee rule. These changes were
introduced in the proposed rule, ``Distribution of Source Material to
Exempt Persons and to General Licensees and Revision of General License
and Exemptions,'' dated July 26, 2010 (75 FR 43425), and the rule was
published as a final rule on May 29, 2013 (78 FR 32310). The fees for
these new fee categories 2.C through 2.F., absent a biennial review,
were determined by performing a comparative analysis to related fee
categories. As a result, this final fee rule lowers the fees for
categories 2.D and 2.E, and increases the fee for category 2.C from
those fees listed in the final source material rule to be consistent
with the calculated fee changes in this final fee rule; the fee for
category 2.F. remains unchanged from that listed in the final source
material rule.
In general, the increase in application fees is due to the
increased number of hours to perform specific activities based on the
biennial review. Application fees for 10 fee categories (2.B., 3.H.,
3.M., 3.N., 3.P., 3.R.2., 3.S., 5.A., 7.C., and 10.B. under Sec.
170.31) increase as a result of the average time to process these types
of license applications. The decrease in fees for 9 fee categories
(2.F. (formerly 2.C.), 3.B., 3.C., 3.I., 3.Q., 4.B., 9.A., 9.C., and 16
under Sec. 170.31) is due to a decrease in average time to process
these types of applications. Also, the application fees increase for 3
import and export fee categories (K.4, 15.D, and 15.H under Sec.
170.31).
The amounts of the materials licensing flat fees are rounded so
that the fees would be convenient to the user and the effects of
rounding would be minimal. Fees under $1,000 are rounded to the nearest
$10, fees that are greater than $1,000 but less than $100,000 are
rounded to the nearest $100, and fees that are greater than $100,000
are rounded to the nearest $1,000.
The licensing flat fees are applicable for fee categories K.1.
through K.5. of Sec. 170.21, and fee categories 1.C., 1.D., 1.F.,
2.B., 2.C., 2.D., 2.E., 2.F., 3.A. through 3.S., 4.B. through 9.D.,
10.B., 15.A. through 15.L., 15.R., 16, and 17 of Sec. 170.31.
Applications filed on or after the effective date of the FY 2013 final
fee rule would be subject to the revised fees in the final rule.
3. Administrative Amendments
This final rule is making the following administrative changes for
clarity:
a. Sec. 170.21: Footnote 2 is revised to reflect there are no more
applications pending review prior to 1991. The following language is
deleted, ``For those applications currently on file for which review
costs have reached an applicable fee ceiling established by the June
20, 1984, and July 2, 1990, rules, but are still pending completion of
the review, the cost incurred after any applicable ceiling was reached
through January 29, 1989, will not be billed to the applicant. Any
professional staff-hours expended above those ceilings on or after
January 30, 1989, will be assessed at the applicable rates established
by Sec. 170.20, as appropriate, except for topical reports whose costs
exceed $50,000. Costs which exceed $50,000 for any topical report,
amendment, revision, or supplement to
[[Page 39471]]
a topical report completed or under review from January 30, 1989,
through August 8, 1991, will not be billed to the applicant. Any
professional hours expended on or after August 9, 1991, will be
assessed at the applicable rate established in Sec. 170.20.''
b. Sec. 170.21: Footnote 4 is revised to include ``in 10 CFR part
110.27,'' for clarity.
c. Sec. 170.31: The fee category name for 2.A.(1) is changed to
include ``deconversion,'' to reflect the new description and the
description for fee category 2.A.(1) is changed to include ``or for
deconverting uranium hexafluoride in the production of uranium oxides
for disposal,'' to capture the deconversion of uranium hexafluoride
(UF6) into uranium oxides for disposal and commercial sale
of the fluoride byproducts from uranium deconversion facilities.
d. Sec. 170.31: The descriptions for fee categories 1.C., 1.D.,
and Footnote 4 are changed and a new fee category 1.F. is created to
address licenses authorizing greater than critical mass as defined by
Sec. 70.4, ``Critical Mass.'' Under 10 CFR part 170, the fee category
1.C. description includes ``of less than a critical mass as defined in
Sec. 70.4 of this chapter.\4\ '' The fee category 1.D. description is
changed to, ``All other special nuclear material licenses, except
licenses authorizing special nuclear material in sealed or unsealed
form in combination that would constitute a critical mass as defined in
Sec. 70.4 of this, for which the licensee shall pay the same fees as
those under Category 1.A.\4\ '' A new fee category 1.F. reads, ``For
special nuclear materials licenses in sealed or unsealed form of
greater than a critical mass as defined in Sec. 70.4 of this
chapter.\4\'' The Footnote 4 includes fee category 1.F. along with fee
categories 1.C. and 1.D. for sealed sources authorized in the same
license.
e. Sec. 170.31: The description for fee category 15.D. is revised
to exclude language regarding import and export of radioactive waste.
The new description reads, ``Application for export or import of
nuclear material not requiring Commission or Executive Branch review,
or obtaining foreign government assurances.''
f. Sec. 170.31: Footnote 3 is revised for clarity because there
are no more applications on file prior to 1991 and deletes the
following language, ``For applications currently on file for which
review costs have reached an applicable fee ceiling established by the
June 20, 1984, and July 2, 1990, rules, but are still pending
completion of the review, the cost incurred after any applicable
ceiling was reached through January 29, 1989, will not be billed to the
applicant. Any professional staff- hours expended above those ceilings
on or after January 30, 1989, will be assessed at the applicable rates
established by Sec. 170.20, as appropriate, except for topical reports
for which costs exceed $50,000. Costs which exceed $50,000 for each
topical report, amendment, revision, or supplement to a topical report
completed or under review from January 30, 1989, through August 8,
1991, will not be billed to the applicant. Any professional hours
expended on or after August 9, 1991, will be assessed at the applicable
rate established in Sec. 170.20.''
In summary, the NRC is making the following changes to 10 CFR part
170:
1. Establishes a revised professional hourly rate to use in
assessing fees for specific services;
2. Revises the license application fees to reflect the FY 2013
hourly rate; and
3. Makes administrative changes to Sec. Sec. 170.21 and 170.31.
B. Amendments to 10 CFR Part 171: Annual Fees for Reactor Licenses
and Fuel Cycle Licenses and Materials Licenses, Including Holders of
Certificates of Compliance, Registrations, and Quality Assurance
Program Approvals and Government Agencies Licensed by the NRC.
The NRC will use its fee-relief surplus to decrease all licensees'
annual fees based on their percentage share of the fee recoverable
budget authority. This rulemaking also makes changes to the number of
NRC licensees and establishes rebaselined annual fees based on Public
Law 112-10. The amendments are described as follows:
1. Application of Fee-Relief and Low-Level Waste (LLW) Surcharge
The NRC will use its fee-relief surplus to decrease all licensees'
annual fees, based on their percentage share of the budget. The NRC
will apply the 10 percent of its budget that is excluded from fee
recovery under OBRA-90, as amended (fee relief), to offset the total
budget allocated for activities that do not directly benefit current
NRC licensees. The budget for these fee-relief activities is totaled
and then reduced by the amount of the NRC's fee relief. Any difference
between the fee-relief and the budgeted amount of these activities
results in a fee-relief adjustment (increase or decrease) to all
licensees' annual fees, based on their percentage share of the budget,
which is consistent with the existing fee methodology.
The FY 2013 budgetary resources for the NRC's fee-relief activities
are $89.8 million. The NRC's 10 percent fee-relief amount in FY 2013 is
$96.0 million, leaving a $6.2 million fee-relief surplus that will
reduce all licensees' annual fees based on their percentage share of
the budget. The FY 2013 budget for fee-relief activities decreased from
FY 2012 mainly due to a decrease in the FY 2013 NRC appropriated budget
even though there was an increase of $1.2 million in the small entity
subsidy.
Table III shows the budgeted costs for fee-relief activities and
the fee-relief adjusted amount to be allocated to annual fees. The FY
2012 amounts are provided for comparison purposes. (Individual values
may not sum to totals due to rounding.)
Table III--Fee-Relief Activities
[Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2012 FY 2013
Fee-relief activities budgeted costs budgeted costs
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Activities not attributable to an
existing NRC licensee or class of
licensee:
a. International activities......... $9.0 $10.2
b. Agreement State oversight........ 11.0 10.3
c. Scholarships and Fellowships..... 16.8 16.4
d. Medical Isotope Production....... 3.4 3.5
2. Activities not assessed under 10 CFR
part 170 licensing and inspection fees
or 10 CFR part 171 annual fees based on
existing law or Commission policy:
a. Fee exemption for nonprofit 11.2 10.2
educational institutions...........
b. Costs not recovered from small 6.5 7.7
entities under 10 CFR 171.16(c)....
c. Regulatory support to Agreement 17.5 16.3
States.............................
[[Page 39472]]
d. Generic decommissioning/ 14.0 13.9
reclamation (not related to the
power reactor and spent fuel
storage fee classes)...............
e. In Situ leach rulemaking and 1.7 1.3
unregistered general licensees.....
-------------------------------
Total fee-relief activities..... 91.1 89.8
Less 10 percent of NRC's FY 2012 total -101.1 -96.0
budget (less non-fee items)............
Fee-Relief Adjustment to be Allocated to -10.0 -6.2
All Licensees' Annual Fees.............
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table IV shows how the NRC is allocating the $6.2 million fee-
relief surplus adjustment to each license fee class. As explained
previously, the NRC is allocating this fee-relief adjustment to each
license fee class based on the percent of the budget for that fee class
compared to the NRC's total budget. The fee-relief surplus adjustment
is subtracted from the required annual fee recovery for each fee class.
Separately, the NRC has continued to allocate the LLW surcharge
based on the volume of LLW disposal of three classes of licenses:
Operating reactors, fuel facilities, and materials users. Because LLW
activities support NRC licensees, the costs of these activities are
recovered through annual fees. In FY 2013, this allocation percentage
was updated based on review of recent data which reflects the change in
the support to the various fee classes. The allocation percentage of
LLW surcharge decreased for operating reactors and increased for fuel
facilities and materials users compared to FY 2012.
Table IV also shows the allocation of the LLW surcharge activity.
For FY 2013, the total budget allocated for LLW activity is $3.4
million. (Individual values may not sum to totals due to rounding.)
Table IV--Allocation of Fee-Relief Adjustment and LLW Surcharge, FY 2013
[Dollars in millions]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LLW surcharge Fee-Relief adjustment Total
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent $ Percent $ $
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating Power Reactors........ 53.0 1.8 85.4 -5.3 -3.5
Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor .............. .............. 3.9 -0.2 -0.2
Decommissioning................
Research and Test Reactors...... .............. .............. 0.2 0.0 0.0
Fuel Facilities................. 37.0 1.3 6.0 -0.4 0.9
Materials Users................. 10.0 0.3 2.9 -0.2 0.1
Transportation.................. .............. .............. 0.4 -0.0 -0.0
Uranium Recovery................ .............. .............. 1.1 -0.1 -0.1
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total....................... 100.0 3.4 100.0 -6.2 -2.8
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Revised Annual Fees
The NRC is revising its annual fees in Sec. Sec. 171.15 and 171.16
for FY 2013 to recover approximately 90 percent of the NRC's FY 2013
budget authority, after subtracting the non-fee amounts and the
estimated amount to be recovered through 10 CFR part 170 fees. The 10
CFR part 170 collections estimates for this final fee rule is $348
million, an increase of $2.8 million from the FY 2012 final fee rule.
The total amount to be recovered through annual fees for this final fee
rule is $511.6 million, a decrease of $44.3 million from the FY 2012
final fee rule. The required annual fee collection in FY 2012 was
$555.8 million.
The Commission has determined (71 FR 30721; May 30, 2006) that the
agency should proceed with a presumption in favor of rebaselining when
calculating annual fees each year. Under this method, the NRC's budget
is analyzed in detail, and budgeted resources are allocated to fee
classes and categories of licensees. The Commission expects that for
most years there will be budgetary and other changes that warrant the
use of the rebaselining method.
As compared with the FY 2012 annual fees, the FY 2013 final
rebaselined fees decrease for two classes of licensees: operating
reactors and DOE Transportation Activities. The annual fees increase
for five classes of licensees: spent fuel storage/reactor and
decommissioning, research and test reactors, fuel facilities and most
materials and uranium recovery licensees.
The NRC's total fee recoverable budget, as mandated by law,
decreases by $45.6 million for FY 2013 compared to FY 2012. The FY 2013
budget was allocated to the fee classes that the budgeted activities
support. The annual fees increase for spent fuel storage/reactor and
decommissioning, research and test reactors, fuel facilities, and most
materials and uranium recovery licensees while annual fees for
operating reactors and DOE Transportation Activities decrease.
The factors affecting all annual fees include the distribution of
budgeted costs to the different classes of licenses (based on the
specific activities the NRC will perform in FY 2013); the estimated 10
CFR part 170 collections for the various classes of licenses, and
allocation of the fee-relief surplus adjustment to all fee classes. The
percentage of the NRC's budget not subject to fee recovery remained at
10 percent from FY 2012 to FY 2013.
Table V shows the rebaselined fees for FY 2013 for a representative
list of categories of licensees. The FY 2012 amounts are provided for
comparison purposes. (Individual values may not sum to totals due to
rounding.)
[[Page 39473]]
Table V--Rebaselined Annual Fees
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2012 annual FY 2013 annual
Class/Category of licenses fee fee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating Power Reactors (Including $4,766,000 $4,390,000
Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor
Decommissioning Annual Fee)............
Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor 211,000 231,000
Decommissioning........................
Research and Test Reactors (Nonpower 34,700 81,600
Reactors)..............................
High Enriched Uranium Fuel Facility..... 6,329,000 6,997,000
Low Enriched Uranium Fuel Facility...... 2,382,000 2,633,000
UF6 Conversion and Deconversion Facility 1,293,000 1,429,000
Conventional Mills...................... 23,600 27,900
Typical Materials Users:
Radiographers (Category 3O)......... 25,900 27,200
Well Loggers (Category 5A).......... 10,200 12,600
Gauge Users (Category 3P)........... 4,900 6,400
Broad Scope Medical (Category 7B)... 46,100 32,900
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The work papers (ADAMS Accession No. ML13154A025) that support this
final fee rule show in detail the allocation of the NRC's budgeted
resources for each class of licenses and how the fees are calculated.
The work papers are available as indicated in Section V, ``Availability
of Documents,'' of this document.
Paragraphs a. through h. of this section describes budgetary
resources allocated to each class of licenses and the calculations of
the rebaselined fees. Individual values in the tables presented in this
section may not sum to totals due to rounding.
a. Fuel Facilities
The FY 2013 budgeted costs to be recovered in the annual fees
assessment to the fuel facility class of licenses (which includes
licensees in fee categories 1.A.(1)(a), 1.A.(1)(b), 1.A.(2)(a),
1.A.(2)(b), 1.A.(2)(c), 1.E., and 2.A.(1) under Sec. 171.16) are
approximately $32.9 million. This value is based on the full cost of
budgeted resources associated with all activities that support this fee
class, which is reduced by estimated 10 CFR part 170 collections and
adjusted for allocated generic transportation resources and fee-relief.
In FY 2013, the LLW surcharge for fuel facilities is added to the
allocated fee-relief adjustment (see Table IV in Section III.B.1,
``Application of Fee-Relief and Low-Level Waste Surcharge,'' of this
document). The summary calculations used to derive this value are
presented in Table VI for FY 2013, with FY 2012 values shown for
comparison. (Individual values may not sum to totals due to rounding.)
Table VI--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for Fuel Facilities
[Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary fee calculations FY 2012 final FY 2013 final
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources................ $54.4 $50.7
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts. -25.6 -19.5
Net 10 CFR part 171 resources........... 28.8 31.2
Allocated generic transportation........ +0.9 +0.8
Fee-relief adjustment/LLW surcharge..... +0.6 +0.9
Billing adjustments..................... -0.5 -0.0
-------------------------------
Total required annual fee recovery.. 29.7 32.9
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The decrease in total budgeted resources for the fuel facilities
fee class from FY 2012 to FY 2013 is primarily due to reduced licensing
actions. Although fuel facilities received an adjustment of
approximately $153,000 for prior year unbilled 10 CFR part 170
adjustments, the annual fee for fuel facilities increases from FY 2012
to FY 2013 primarily due to the estimated decreased 10 CFR part 170
billings due to reduced budgetary resources for licensing actions. The
NRC allocates the total required annual fee recovery amount to the
individual fuel facility licensees, based on the effort/fee
determination matrix developed for the FY 1999 final fee rule (64 FR
31447; June 10, 1999). In the matrix included in the publicly available
NRC work papers, licensees are grouped into categories according to
their licensed activities (i.e., nuclear material enrichment,
processing operations, and material form) and the level, scope, depth
of coverage, and rigor of generic regulatory programmatic effort
applicable to each category from a safety and safeguards perspective.
This methodology can be applied to determine fees for new licensees,
current licensees, licensees in unique license situations, and
certificate holders.
This methodology is adaptable to changes in the number of licensees
or certificate holders, licensed or certified material and/or
activities, and total programmatic resources to be recovered through
annual fees. When a license or certificate is modified, it may result
in a change of category for a particular fuel facility licensee, as a
result of the methodology used in the fuel facility effort/fee matrix.
Consequently, this change may also have an effect on the fees assessed
to other fuel facility licensees and certificate holders. For example,
if a fuel facility licensee amends its license/certificate (e.g.,
decommissioning or license termination) that results in it not being
subject to 10 CFR part 171 costs applicable to the fee class, then the
budgeted costs for the safety and/or safeguards components will be
spread among the remaining fuel facility licensees/certificate holders.
The methodology is applied as follows. First, a fee category is
assigned,
[[Page 39474]]
based on the nuclear material and activity authorized by license or
certificate. Although a licensee/certificate holder may elect not to
fully use a license/certificate, the license/certificate is still used
as the source for determining authorized nuclear material possession
and use/activity. Second, the category and license/certificate
information are used to determine where the licensee/certificate holder
fits into the matrix. The matrix depicts the categorization of
licensees/certificate holders by authorized material types and use/
activities.
Each year, the NRC's fuel facility project managers and regulatory
analysts determine the level of effort associated with regulating each
of these facilities. This is done by assigning, for each fuel facility,
separate effort factors for the safety and safeguards activities
associated with each type of regulatory activity. The matrix includes
10 types of regulatory activities, including enrichment and scrap/
waste-related activities (see the work papers for the complete list).
Effort factors are assigned as follows: One (low regulatory effort),
five (moderate regulatory effort), and 10 (high regulatory effort). The
NRC then totals separate effort factors for safety and safeguard
activities for each fee category.
The effort factors for the various fuel facility fee categories are
summarized in Table VII. The value of the effort factors shown, as well
as the percent of the total effort factor for all fuel facilities,
reflects the total regulatory effort for each fee category (not per
facility). This results in spreading of costs to other fee categories.
The Uranium Enrichment fee category factors have shifted with minimal
increases and decreases between safety and safeguards factors compared
to FY 2012.
Table VII--Effort Factors for Fuel Facilities, FY 2013
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Effort factors (percent of
Number of total)
Facility type (fee category) facilities -------------------------------
Safety Safeguards
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
High Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(a))......................... 2 89 (38.5) 97 (47.0)
Low Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(b)).......................... 3 70 (30.3) 35 (17.0)
Gas Centrifuge Enrichment Demonstration (1.A.(2)(b))............ 1 3 (1.3) 15 (7.3)
Hot Cell (1.A.(2)(c))........................................... 1 6 (2.6) 3 (1.5)
Uranium Enrichment (1.E.)....................................... 2 51 (22.1) 49 (23.8)
UF6 Conversion and Deconversion (2.A.(1))....................... 1 12 (5.2) 7 (3.4)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For FY 2013, the total fee recovery budget for safety activities,
before the fee-relief adjustment is made, are $16.9 million. This
amount is allocated to each fee category based on its percent of the
total regulatory effort for safety activities. For example, if the
total effort factor for safety activities for all fuel facilities is
100, and the total effort factor for safety activities for a given fee
category is 10, that fee category will be allocated 10 percent of the
total budgeted resources for safety activities. Similarly, the total
fee recovery budget of $15 million for safeguards activities is
allocated to each fee category based on its percent of the total
regulatory effort for safeguards activities. The fuel facility fee
class' portion of the fee-relief adjustment of $0.4 million is
allocated to each fee category based on its percent of the total
regulatory effort for both safety and safeguards activities. The annual
fee per licensee is then calculated by dividing the total allocated
budgeted resources for the fee category by the number of licensees in
that fee category. The fee (rounded) for each fuel facility is
summarized in Table VIII.
Table VIII--Annual Fees for Fuel Facilities
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2013 final
Facility type (fee category) annual fee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
High Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(a))................. $6,997,000
Low Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(b)).................. 2,633,000
Gas Centrifuge Enrichment Demonstration (1.A.(2)(b)).... 1,354,000
Hot Cell (and others) (1.A.(2)(c))...................... 677,000
Uranium Enrichment (1.E.)............................... 3,762,000
UF6 Conversion and Deconversion (2.A.(1))............... 1,429,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
b. Uranium Recovery Facilities
The total FY 2013 budgeted costs to be recovered through annual
fees assessed with the uranium recovery class (which includes licensees
in fee categories 2.A.(2)(a), 2.A.(2)(b), 2.A.(2)(c), 2.A.(2)(d),
2.A.(2)(e), 2.A.(3), 2.A.(4), 2.A.(5), and 18.B. under Sec. 171.16)
are approximately $1 million. The derivation of this value is shown in
Table IX, with FY 2012 values shown for comparison purposes.
Table IX--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for Uranium Recovery
Facilities
[Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary fee calculations FY 2012 Final FY 2013 Final
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources................ $9.5 $9.9
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts. -8.3 -8.9
-------------------------------
Net 10 CFR part 171 resources....... 1.2 1.0
Allocated generic transportation........ N/A N/A
Fee-relief adjustment................... -0.1 -0.0
[[Page 39475]]
Billing adjustments..................... -0.0 -0.0
-------------------------------
Total required annual fee recovery.. 1.0 1.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The increase in total budgeted resources allocated to this fee
class in FY 2013 is primarily due to an increase in licensing board
activities. The annual fees increase for uranium recovery facilities
primarily due to rulemaking and licensing board activities as well as a
decrease in budgeted cost for the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation
Control Act (UMTRCA).
Since FY 2002, the NRC has computed the annual fee for the uranium
recovery fee class by allocating the total annual fee amount for this
fee class between the DOE and the other licensees in this fee class.
The NRC regulates DOE's Title I and Title II activities under the
UMTRCA. The Congress established the two programs, Title I and Title II
under UMTRCA, to protect the public and the environment from uranium
milling. The UMTRCA Title I program is for remedial action at abandoned
mill tailings sites where tailings resulted largely from production of
uranium for the weapons program. The NRC also regulates DOE's UMTRCA
Title II program, which is directed toward uranium mill sites licensed
by the NRC or Agreement States in or after 1978.
In FY 2013, the annual fee assessed to DOE includes recovery of the
costs specifically budgeted for the NRC's UMTRCA Title I and II
activities, plus 10 percent of the remaining annual fee amount,
including generic/other costs (minus 10 percent of the fee relief
adjustment), for the uranium recovery class. The NRC assesses the
remaining 90 percent generic/other costs minus 90 percent of the fee
relief adjustment, to the other NRC licensees in this fee class that
are subject to annual fees.
The costs to be recovered through annual fees assessed to the
uranium recovery class are shown in Table X.
Table X--Costs Recovered Through Annual Fees; Uranium Recovery Fee Class
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOE Annual Fee Amount (UMTRCA Title I and Title II)
General Licenses:
UMTRCA Title I and Title II budgeted costs less 10 $ 666,626
CFR part 170 receipts..............................
10 percent of generic/other uranium recovery 40,487
budgeted costs.....................................
10 percent of uranium recovery fee-relief adjustment -7,084
Total Annual Fee Amount for DOE (rounded)............... 700,000
Annual Fee Amount for Other Uranium Recovery Licenses:
90 percent of generic/other uranium recovery 364,379
budgeted costs less the amounts specifically
budgeted for Title I and Title II activities.......
90 percent of uranium recovery fee-relief adjustment -63,757
---------------
Total Annual Fee Amount for Other Uranium 300,621
Recovery Licenses..............................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The DOE fee decreases by 10 percent in FY 2013 compared to FY 2012
due to reduced UMTRCA budgeted costs. The annual fee for most uranium
recovery licensees increases due to licensing board activities.
The NRC will continue to use a matrix which is included in the work
papers to determine the level of effort associated with conducting the
generic regulatory actions for the different (non-DOE) licensees in
this fee class. The weights derived in this matrix are used to allocate
the approximately $300,621 annual fee amount to these licensees. The
use of this uranium recovery annual fee matrix was established in the
FY 1995 final fee rule (60 FR 32217; June 20, 1995). The FY 2013 matrix
is described as follows.
First, the methodology identifies the categories of licenses
included in this fee class (besides DOE). These categories are
conventional uranium mills and heap leach facilities, uranium In Situ
Recovery (ISR) and resin ISR facilities mill tailings disposal
facilities (11e.(2) disposal facilities), and uranium water treatment
facilities.
Second, the matrix identifies the types of operating activities
that support and benefit these licensees. The activities related to
generic decommissioning/reclamation are not included in the matrix
because they are included in the fee-relief activities. Therefore, they
are not a factor in determining annual fees. The activities included in
the matrix are operations, waste operations, and groundwater
protection. The relative weight of each type of activity is then
determined, based on the regulatory resources associated with each
activity. The operations, waste operations, and groundwater protection
activities have weights of zero, five, and 10, respectively, in the
matrix.
Each year, the NRC determines the level of benefit to each licensee
for generic uranium recovery program activities for each type of
generic activity in the matrix. This is done by assigning, for each fee
category, separate benefit factors for each type of regulatory activity
in the matrix. Benefit factors are assigned on a scale of zero to 10 as
follows: zero (no regulatory benefit), five (moderate regulatory
benefit), and 10 (high regulatory benefit). These benefit factors are
first multiplied by the relative weight assigned to each activity
(described previously). The NRC then calculates total and per licensee
benefit factors for each fee category. These benefit factors reflect
the relative regulatory benefit associated with each licensee and fee
category.
The benefit factors per licensee and per fee category, for each of
the non-DOE fee categories included in the uranium recovery fee class
are shown in Table XI.
[[Page 39476]]
Table XI--Benefit Factors for Uranium Recovery Licenses
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of Benefit factor Benefit factor
Fee category licensees per licensee Total value percent total
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Conventional and Heap Leach mills (2.A.(2)(a)).. 1 150 150 9
Basic In Situ Recovery facilities (2.A.(2)(b)).. 6 190 1,140 71
Expanded In Situ Recovery facilities 1 215 215 13
(2.A.(2)(c))...................................
11e.(2) disposal incidental to existing tailings 1 85 85 5
sites (2.A.(4))................................
Uranium water treatment (2.A.(5))............... 1 25 25 2
---------------------------------------------------------------
Total....................................... 10 665 1,615 100
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Applying these factors to the approximately $300,621 in budgeted
costs to be recovered from non-DOE uranium recovery licensees results
in the total annual fees for each fee category. The annual fee per
licensee is calculated by dividing the total allocated budgeted
resources for the fee category by the number of licensees in that fee
category, as summarized in Table XII.
Table XII--Annual Fees for Uranium Recovery Licensees
[Other than DOE]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2013 final
Facility type (fee category) annual fee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Conventional and Heap Leach mills (2.A.(2)(a)).......... $27,900
Basic In Situ Recovery facilities (2.A.(2)(b)).......... 35,400
Expanded In Situ Recovery facilities (2.A.(2)(c))....... 40,000
11e.(2) disposal incidental to existing tailings sites 15,800
(2.A.(4))..............................................
Uranium water treatment (2.A.(5))....................... 4,700
------------------------------------------------------------------------
c. Operating Power Reactors
The total budgeted costs to be recovered from the power reactor fee
class in FY 2013 in the form of annual fees is $424.2 million as shown
in Table XIII. The FY 2012 values are shown for comparison. (Individual
values may not sum to totals due to rounding.)
Table XIII--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for Operating Power Reactors
[Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary fee calculations FY 2012 final FY 2013 final
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources................ $781.4 $734.7
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts. -295.5 -303.8
-------------------------------
Net 10 CFR part 171 resources....... 486.0 430.9
Allocated generic transportation........ +1.3 1.3
Fee-relief adjustment/LLW surcharge..... -6.3 -3.4
Billing adjustment...................... -7.3 0.2
-------------------------------
2nd Billing Adjustment (terminated -0.0 -4.6
license)...............................
-------------------------------
Total required annual fee recovery.. 473.7 424.2
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The decrease in budgetary resources for FY 2013 is primarily due to
reduced licensing actions and the completion of three major licensing
reviews (Vogtle, Summer and Westinghouse Advanced Passive 1000 (AP
1000). Consequently, more resources are being applied to the
implementation of the task force recommendations regarding the
Fukushima Dai-ichi accident in Japan (``Recommendations for Enhancing
Reactor Safety in the 21st Century: The Near-Term Task Force Review of
Insights from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Accident'' (ADAMS Accession No.
ML111861807), dated July 12, 2011.
The annual fees for power reactors decrease in FY 2013 due to
increased 10 CFR part 170 estimates and an adjustment of $20.7 million
for prior year unbilled invoices under 10 CFR part 170. The budgeted
costs to be recovered through annual fees to power reactors are divided
equally among the 102 power reactors licensed to operate due to the
withdrawal of two operating reactors, Crystal River and Kewaunee which
results in annual fee of $4,159,000 per reactor for FY 2013. The
withdrawal also results in a credit of $4.6 million for the 10 CFR part
171 collections for FY 2013. Additionally, each power reactor licensed
to operate would be assessed the FY 2013 spent fuel storage/reactor
decommissioning annual fee of $231,000. The total FY 2013 annual fee is
$4,390,000 for each power reactor licensed to operate. The annual fees
for power reactors are presented in Sec. 171.15.
d. Spent Fuel Storage/Reactors in Decommissioning
For FY 2013, budgeted costs of $33.4 million for spent fuel
storage/reactor decommissioning are to be recovered through annual fees
assessed to 10 CFR part 50 power reactors, and to 10 CFR
[[Page 39477]]
part 72 licensees who do not hold a 10 CFR part 50 license. Those
reactor licensees that have ceased operations and have no fuel onsite
are not subject to these annual fees. Table XIV shows the calculation
of this annual fee amount. The FY 2012 values are shown for comparison.
(Individual values may not sum to totals due to rounding.)
Table XIV--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for the Spent Fuel Storage/
Reactor in Decommissioning Fee Class
[Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary fee calculations FY 2012 final FY 2013 final
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources................ $29.4 $33.4
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts. -3.6 -5.4
-------------------------------
Net 10 CFR part 171 resources....... 25.8 28.0
Allocated generic transportation........ +0.7 0.6
Fee-relief adjustment................... -0.3 -0.2
Billing adjustments..................... -0.3 0.0
-------------------------------
Total required annual fee recovery.. 22.9 28.4
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The value of total budgeted resources for this fee class is higher
in FY 2013 than in FY 2012 due to rulemaking activities regarding the
update of the Waste Confidence rule. The required annual fee recovery
amount is divided equally among 123 licensees, resulting in an FY 2013
annual fee of $231,000 per licensee.
e. Research and Test Reactors (Nonpower Reactors)
Approximately $330,000 in budgeted costs is to be recovered through
annual fees assessed to the test and research reactor class of licenses
for FY 2013. Table XV summarizes the annual fee calculation for the
research and test reactors for FY 2013. The FY 2012 values are shown
for comparison. (Individual values may not sum to totals due to
rounding.)
Table XV--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for Research and Test Reactors
[Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary fee calculations FY 2012 final FY 2013 final
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources................ $1.68 $1.50
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts. -1.54 -1.19
-------------------------------
Net 10 CFR part 171 resources....... 0.14 0.30
Allocated generic transportation........ +0.03 +0.03
Fee-relief adjustment................... -0.05 -0.01
Billing adjustments..................... -0.02 -0.00
-------------------------------
Total required annual fee recovery.. 0.13 0.33
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Although research and test reactors received an adjustment of
approximately $112,000 for prior year 10 CFR part 170 unbilled
adjustments, the increase in annual fees for research and test reactors
from FY 2012 to FY 2013 is primarily due to reduced activity under 10
CFR part 170. The required annual fee recovery amount is divided
equally among the four research and test reactors subject to annual
fees and results in an FY 2013 annual fee of $81,600 for each licensee.
f. Rare Earth Facilities
The agency does not anticipate receiving an application for a rare
earth facility this fiscal year, so no budgeted resources are allocated
to this fee class, and no annual fee will be published in FY 2013.
g. Materials Users
For FY 2013, budget costs of $31.2 million for material users are
to be recovered through annual fees assessed to 10 CFR part 30
licensees. Table XVI shows the calculation of the FY 2013 annual fee
amount for materials users licensees. The FY 2012 values are shown for
comparison. Note the following fee categories under Sec. 171.16 are
included in this fee class: 1.C., 1.D., 1.F., 2.B. through 2.F., 3.A.
through 3.S., 4.A. through 4.C., 5.A., 5.B., 6.A., 7.A. through 7.C.,
8.A., 9.A. through 9.D., 16, and 17. (Individual values may not sum to
totals due to rounding.)
Table XVI--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for Materials Users Licensees
[Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary fee calculations FY 2012 final FY 2013 Final
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources................ $30.6 $30.7
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts. -1.6 -1.2
-------------------------------
Net 10 CFR part 171 resources....... 29.0 29.5
Allocated generic transportation........ +1.5 +1.5
Fee-relief adjustment/LLW surcharge..... +0.1 +0.2
[[Page 39478]]
Billing adjustments..................... -0.2 -0.0
-------------------------------
Total required annual fee recovery.. 30.4 31.2
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The total required annual fees to be recovered for most materials
users licensees increase in FY 2013 mainly for oversight activities and
changes resulting from biennial review hours and inspection priorities.
To equitably and fairly allocate the $31.2 million in FY 2013
budgeted costs to be recovered in annual fees assessed to the
approximately 3,000 diverse materials users licensees, the NRC will
continue to base the annual fees for each fee category within this
class on the 10 CFR part 170 application fees and estimated inspection
costs for each fee category. Because the application fees and
inspection costs are indicative of the complexity of the license, this
approach continues to provide a proxy for allocating the generic and
other regulatory costs to the diverse categories of licenses based on
the NRC's cost to regulate each category. This fee calculation also
continues to consider the inspection frequency (priority), which is
indicative of the safety risk and resulting regulatory costs associated
with the categories of licenses.
The annual fee for these categories of materials users' licenses is
developed as follows:
Annual fee = Constant x [Application Fee + (Average Inspection Cost
divided by Inspection Priority)] + Inspection Multiplier x (Average
Inspection Cost divided by Inspection Priority) + Unique Category
Costs.
The constant is the multiple necessary to recover approximately
$22.6 million in general costs (including allocated generic
transportation costs) and is 1.52 for FY 2013. The average inspection
cost is the average inspection hours for each fee category multiplied
by the hourly rate of $272. The inspection priority is the interval
between routine inspections, expressed in years. The inspection
multiplier is the multiple necessary to recover approximately $8.2
million in inspection costs, and is 2.3 for FY 2013. The unique
category costs are any special costs that the NRC has budgeted for a
specific category of licenses. For FY 2013, approximately $153,000 in
budgeted costs for the implementation of revised 10 CFR part 35,
Medical Use of Byproduct Material (unique costs), has been allocated to
holders of NRC human-use licenses.
The annual fee to be assessed to each licensee also includes a
share of the fee-relief surplus adjustment of approximately $175,000
allocated to the materials users fee class (see Section III.B.1,
``Application of Fee-Relief and Low-Level Waste Surcharge,'' of this
document), and for certain categories of these licensees, a share of
the approximately $338,000 surcharge costs allocated to the fee class.
The annual fee for each fee category is shown in Sec. 171.16(d).
h. Transportation
Table XVII shows the calculation of the FY 2013 generic
transportation budgeted resources to be recovered through annual fees.
The FY 2012 values are shown for comparison. (Individual values may not
sum to totals due to rounding.)
Table XVII--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for Transportation
[Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary fee calculations FY 2012 final FY 2013 final
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources................ $9.2 $8.2
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts. -3.4 -2.7
-------------------------------
Net 10 CFR part 171 resources....... 5.9 5.5
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The NRC must approve any package used for shipping nuclear material
before shipment. If the package meets NRC requirements, the NRC issues
a Radioactive Material Package Certificate of Compliance (CoC) to the
organization requesting approval of a package. Organizations are
authorized to ship radioactive material in a package approved for use
under the general licensing provisions of 10 CFR part 71, ``Packaging
and Transportation of Radioactive Material.'' The resources associated
with generic transportation activities are distributed to the license
fee classes based on the number of CoCs benefitting (used by) that fee
class, as a proxy for the generic transportation resources expended for
each fee class.
The total FY 2013 budgetary resources for generic transportation
activities including those to support DOE CoCs is $5.5 million. The
decrease in 10 CFR part 171 resources in FY 2013 is primarily due to
decreased budgetary resources for regulatory programs. Generic
transportation resources associated with fee-exempt entities are not
included in this total. These costs are included in the appropriate
fee-relief category (e.g., the fee-relief category for nonprofit
educational institutions).
Consistent with the policy established in the NRC's FY 2006 final
fee rule (71 FR 30721; May 30, 2006), the NRC will recover generic
transportation costs unrelated to DOE as part of existing annual fees
for license fee classes. The NRC will continue to assess a separate
annual fee under Sec. 171.16, fee category 18.A., for DOE
Transportation Activities. The amount of the allocated generic
resources is calculated by multiplying the percentage of total CoCs
used by each fee class (and DOE) by the total generic transportation
resources to be recovered.
The distribution of these resources to the license fee classes and
DOE is shown in Table XVIII. The distribution is adjusted to account
for the licensees in each fee class that are fee-exempt. For example,
if four CoCs benefit the entire research and test reactor class, but
only four of 31 research and test reactors are subject to annual fees,
the number of CoCs used to determine the proportion
[[Page 39479]]
of generic transportation resources allocated to research and test
reactor annual fees equals (4/31)*4, or 0.5 CoCs.
Table XVIII--Distribution of Generic Transportation Resources, FY 2013
[Dollars in millions]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allocated
Number CoCs Percentage of generic
License fee class/DOE benefiting fee total CoCs transportation
class or DOE resources
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total........................................................... 87.5 100.0 $5.54
DOE............................................................. 20.0 22.9 1.27
Operating Power Reactors........................................ 20.0 22.9 1.27
Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor Decommissioning...................... 10.0 11.4 0.63
Research and Test Reactors...................................... 0.5 0.6 0.03
Fuel Facilities................................................. 13.0 14.8 0.82
Materials Users................................................. 24.0 27.4 1.52
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The NRC assesses an annual fee to DOE based on the 10 CFR part 71
CoCs it holds and does not allocate these DOE-related resources to
other licensees' annual fees, because these resources specifically
support DOE. Note that DOE's annual fee includes a reduction for the
fee-relief surplus adjustment (see Section III.B.1, ``Application of
Fee-Relief and Low-Level Waste Surcharge,'' of this document),
resulting in a total annual fee of $1,238,000 for FY 2013. The annual
fee decreases in FY 2013 are primarily due to reduced budgeted
resources for the NRC's transportation activities.
3. Small Entity Fees
Regarding small entity fees, the NRC conducted its 2013 biennial
review of the small entity fees to determine if the fees should be
changed. The NRC applied the fee methodology developed in FY 2009 that
applies a fixed percentage of 39 percent to the prior 2-year weighted
average of materials users' fees. This resulted in an upper-tier small
entity fee increase from $2,300 to $3,500 and a lower-tier fee increase
from $500 to $800, which is a 52 percent and 60 percent increase,
respectively. Implementing this increase would have a disproportionate
impact upon the NRC's small licensees compared to other licensees.
Therefore, the NRC staff revised the increase to 21 percent for upper-
tier fee which is the same limit applied in the FY 2011 biennial
review. The NRC staff is amending the upper-tier small entity fee to
$2,800 and amending the lower-tier small entity fee to $600 for FY
2013. The NRC staff believes these fees are reasonable and provide
relief to small entities while at the same time recovering from those
licensees some of the NRC's costs for activities that benefit them.
4. Administrative Amendments
This final rule makes certain administrative changes for clarity:
a. Sec. 171.16: Footnote 1 is revised for clarity and deletes the
following language, ``Licensees paying annual fees under category
1.A.(1) are not subject to the annual fees for categories 1.C. and 1.D.
for sealed sources authorized in the license.''
b. Sec. 171.16: New Footnote 15 is added for clarity and reads as
follows, ``Licensees paying annual fees under category 1.A., 1.B., and
1.E. are not subject to the annual fees for categories 1.C., 1.D., and
1.F. for sealed sources authorized in the license.''
c. Sec. 171.16: Reference to Footnote 4 is removed and replaced
with reference to Footnote 15 in fee categories 1.C. and 1.D. Fee
category 1.F. is revised to reference Footnote 15 for clarity.
d. Sec. 171.16(c): The description for small entities is revised
to include ``10 CFR part 72 licensees,'' as eligible to apply for small
entity status. The staff believes this inclusion remedies the
unintended consequence of the consolidation of 10 CFR part 72 licenses
under Sec. 171.15 being excluded for treatment as a small business
entity for fee purposes.
e. The NRC revises the lower-tier receipts-based threshold of
$450,000 to $485,000 to reflect approximately the same percentage
adjustment as the NRC's upper-tier receipts-based standard adjustment
from $6.5 to $7 million which was published as a final rule in the
Federal Register (77 FR 39385) and effective on August 22, 2012.
f. Sec. 171.16: The name for fee category 2.A.(1) includes
``deconversion,'' to reflect the new description and the description
for fee category 2.A.(1) is changed to include ``or for deconverting
uranium hexafluoride in the production of uranium oxides for
disposal,'' to capture the deconversion of uranium hexafluoride
(UF6) into uranium oxides for disposal and commercial sale
of the fluoride byproducts from uranium deconversion facilities.
g. Sec. 171.16: The descriptions for fee categories 1.C. and 1.D.
are changed; and a new fee category 1.F. is created to address licenses
authorizing greater than critical mass as defined by Sec. 70.4,
``Critical Mass.'' Under 10 CFR part 170, the fee category 1.C.
description would include ``of less than a critical mass as defined in
Sec. 70.4 of this chapter.'' The fee category 1.D. description is
changed to, ``All other special nuclear material licenses, except
licenses authorizing special nuclear material in sealed or unsealed
form in combination that would constitute a critical mass as defined in
Sec. 70.4 of this, for which the licensee shall pay the same fees as
those under category 1.A.'' A new fee category 1.F. reads, ``For
special nuclear materials licenses in sealed or unsealed form of
greater than a critical mass as defined in Sec. 70.4 of this
chapter.''
h. Sec. 171.19(d) is revised for clarity and changes ``and 3.A.
through 9.D.'' to ``3.A. through 3.F., and 3.H. through 9.D.''
i. Sec. 171.16: Footnote 7 is revised for clarity and deletes the
following language, ``they are charged an annual fee in other
categories while they are licensed to operate,'' and adds the following
language, ``their decommissioning fees are covered by other fees.''
In summary, the NRC is making the following changes to 10 CFR part
171:
1. Uses the NRC's fee-relief surplus to reduce all licensees'
annual fees, based on their percentage share of the NRC budget;
2. Establishes rebaselined annual fees for FY 2013;
3. Increases the maximum small entity fee from $2,300 to $2,800,
and the lower-tier fee from $500 to $600; and
[[Page 39480]]
4. Makes administrative changes to Sec. Sec. 171.16 and 171.19(d).
IV. Plain Writing
The Plain Writing Act of 2010, (Pub. L. 111-274), requires Federal
agencies to write documents in a clear, concise, well-organized manner.
The NRC has written this document to be consistent with the Plain
Writing act as well as the Presidential Memorandum, ``Plain Language in
Government Writing,'' published June 10, 1998 (63 FR 31883).
V. Availability of Documents
The NRC is making the documents identified in the following table
available to interested persons through one or more of the following
methods, as indicated. To access documents related to this action, see
the ADDRESSES section of this document.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Document PDR Web ADAMS accession
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2013 Work Papers................. X ............................ ML13154A025.
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis..... X ............................ ML13067A088.
Small Entity Compliance Guide....... X ............................ ML13046A282.
NUREG-1100, Volume 28, X http://www.nrc.gov/reading- ..............................
``Congressional Budget rm/doc-collections/nuregs/
Justification: Fiscal Year 2013'' staff/sr1100/.
(February 2012).
NRC Form 526........................ ............ http://www.nrc.gov/reading- ..............................
rm/doc-collections/forms/
nrc526.pdf.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VI. Voluntary Consensus Standards
The National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15
U.S.C. 3701) requires that Federal agencies use technical standards
that are developed or adopted by voluntary consensus standards bodies,
unless using these standards is inconsistent with applicable law or is
otherwise impractical. The NRC is amending the licensing, inspection,
and annual fees charged to its licensees and applicants, as necessary,
to recover approximately 90 percent of its budget authority in FY 2013,
as required by the OBRA-90, as amended. This action does not constitute
the establishment of a standard that contains generally applicable
requirements.
VII. Environmental Impact: Categorical Exclusion
The NRC has determined that this final rule is the type of action
described in categorical exclusion 10 CFR 51.22(c)(1). Therefore,
neither an environmental assessment nor an environmental impact
statement has been prepared for this final rule. By its very nature,
this regulatory action does not affect the environment and, therefore,
no environmental justice issues are raised.
VIII. Paperwork Reduction Act Statement
This final rule does not contain information collection
requirements and, therefore, is not subject to the requirements of the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
Public Protection Notification
The NRC may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to
respond to, a request for information or an information collection
requirement, unless the requesting document displays a currently valid
Office of Management and Budget control number.
IX. Regulatory Analysis
Under OBRA-90, as amended, and the AEA, the NRC is required to
recover 90 percent of its budget authority, or $985.6 million in FY
2013. The NRC established fee methodology guidelines for 10 CFR part
170 in 1978, and more fee methodology guidelines through the
establishment of 10 CFR part 171 in 1986. In subsequent rulemakings,
the NRC has adjusted its fees without changing the underlying
principles of its fee policy in order to ensure that the NRC continues
to comply with the statutory requirements for cost recovery in OBRA-90
and the AEA.
In this rulemaking, the NRC continues this long-standing approach.
Therefore, the NRC did not identify any alternatives to the current fee
structure guidelines and did not prepare a regulatory analysis for this
rulemaking.
X. Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
Section 604 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act requires agencies to
perform an analysis that considers the impact of a rulemaking on small
entities. The NRC's regulatory flexibility analysis for this final rule
is available as indicated in Section V, Availability of Documents, of
this document, and a summary is provided in the following paragraphs.
The NRC is required by the OBRA-90, as amended, to recover
approximately 90 percent of its FY 2013 budget authority through the
assessment of user fees. The OBRA-90 further requires that the NRC
establish a schedule of charges that fairly and equitably allocates the
aggregate amount of these charges among licensees.
The FY 2013 final rule establishes the schedules of fees necessary
for the NRC to recover 90 percent of its budget authority for FY 2013.
The final rule results in some increased annual fees charged to certain
licensees and holders of certificates, registrations, and approvals,
and decreased annual fees charged to others. Licensees affected by
these increased fees include those who qualify as small entities under
the NRC's size standards in Sec. 2.810.
The NRC prepared a FY 2013 biennial regulatory analysis in
accordance with the FY 2001 final rule (66 FR 32467; June 14, 2001).
This rule also stated the small entity fees will be reexamined every 2
years and in the same years the NRC conducts the biennial review of
fees as required by the Office of Chief Financial Officer Act.
For this final rule, the small entity fees increase to $2,800 for
the maximum upper-tier small entity fee and increase to $600 for the
lower-tier small entity as result of the biennial review which factored
in the number of increased hours for application reviews and
inspections in the fee calculations. The next small entity biennial
review is scheduled for FY 2015.
Additionally, the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness
Act requires all Federal agencies to prepare a written compliance guide
for each rule for which the agency is required by 5 U.S.C. 604 to
prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis. The NRC, in compliance with
the law, has prepared the ``Small Entity Compliance Guide,'' which is
available as indicated in Section V, Availability of Documents, of this
document.
XI. Backfitting and Issue Finality
The NRC has determined that the backfit rule, 10 CFR 50.109, does
not apply to this final rule and that a backfit analysis is not
required. A backfit analysis is not required because these amendments
do not require the
[[Page 39481]]
modification of, or addition to, systems, structures, components, or
the design of a facility, or the design approval or manufacturing
license for a facility, or the procedures or organization required to
design, construct, or operate a facility.
XII. Congressional Review Act
In accordance with the Congressional Review Act of 1996 (5 U.S.C.
801-808), the NRC has determined that this action is a major rule and
has verified the determination with the Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs of the Office of Management and Budget.
List of Subjects
10 CFR Part 170
Byproduct material, Import and export licenses, Intergovernmental
relations, Non-payment penalties, Nuclear materials, Nuclear power
plants and reactors, Source material, Special nuclear material.
10 CFR Part 171
Annual charges, Byproduct material, Holders of certificates,
Registrations, Approvals, Intergovernmental relations, Non-payment
penalties, Nuclear materials, Nuclear power plants and reactors, Source
material, Special nuclear material.
For the reasons set out in the preamble and under the authority of
the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended; the Energy Reorganization
Act of 1974, as amended; and 5 U.S.C. 552 and 553, the NRC is adopting
the following amendments to 10 CFR parts 170 and 171.
PART 170--FEES FOR FACILITIES, MATERIALS, IMPORT AND EXPORT
LICENSES, AND OTHER REGULATORY SERVICES UNDER THE ATOMIC ENERGY ACT
OF 1954, AS AMENDED
0
1. The authority citation for part 170 continues to read as follows:
Authority: Independent Offices Appropriations Act sec. 501 (31
U.S.C. 9701); Atomic Energy Act sec. 161(w) (42 U.S.C. 2201(w));
Energy Reorganization Act sec. 201 (42 U.S.C. 5841); Chief Financial
Officers Act sec. 205 (31 U.S.C. 901, 902); Government Paperwork
Elimination Act sec. 1704, (44 U.S.C. 3504 note); Energy Policy Act
secs. 623, Energy Policy Act of 2005 sec. 651(e), Pub. L. 109-58,
119 Stat.783 (42 U.S.C. 2201(w), 2014, 2021, 2021b, 2111).
0
2. Section 170.20 is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 170.20 Average cost per professional staff-hour.
Fees for permits, licenses, amendments, renewals, special projects,
10 CFR part 55 re-qualification and replacement examinations and tests,
other required reviews, approvals, and inspections under Sec. Sec.
170.21 and 170.31 will be calculated using the professional staff-hour
rate of $272 per hour.
0
3. In Sec. 170.21, the table is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 170.21 Schedule of fees for production or utilization
facilities, review of standard referenced design approvals, special
projects, inspections, and import and export licenses.
* * * * *
Schedule of Facility Fees
[See footnotes at end of table]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Facility categories and type of fees Fees 1 2
------------------------------------------------------------------------
A. Nuclear Power Reactors:
Application for Construction Permit........ Full Cost.
Early Site Permit, Construction Permit, Full Cost.
Combined License, Operating License.
Amendment, Renewal, Dismantling- Full Cost.
Decommissioning and Termination, Other
Approvals.
Inspections \3\............................ Full Cost.
B. Standard Reference Design Review:
Preliminary Design Approvals, Final Design Full Cost.
Approvals, Certification.
Amendment, Renewal, Other Approvals........ Full Cost.
C. Test Facility/Research Reactor/Critical
Facility:
Application for Construction Permit........ Full Cost.
Construction Permit, Operating License..... Full Cost.
Amendment, Renewal, Dismantling- Full Cost.
Decommissioning and Termination, Other
Approvals.
Inspections \3\............................ Full Cost.
D. Manufacturing License:
Application for Construction............... Full Cost.
Preliminary Design Approval, Final Design Full Cost.
Approval.
Amendment Renewal, Other Approvals......... Full Cost.
Inspections \3\............................ Full Cost.
E. [Reserved] .......................
F. [Reserved] .......................
G. Other Production or Utilization Facility:
Application for Construction Permit........ Full Cost.
Construction Permit, Operating License..... Full Cost.
Amendment, Renewal, Other Approvals........ Full Cost.
Inspections \3\............................ Full Cost.
H. Production or Utilization Facility
Permanently Closed Down:
Inspections \3\............................ Full Cost.
I. Part 55 Reviews:
Requalification and Replacement Full Cost.
Examinations for Reactors Operators.
J. Special Projects:
Approvals and preapplication/licensing Full Cost.
activities.
Inspections \3\............................ Full Cost.
Contested hearings on licensing actions Full Cost.
directly related to U.S. Government
national security initiatives.
K. Import and export licenses:
Licenses for the import and export only of
production or utilization facilities or
the export only of components for
production or utilization facilities
issued under 10 CFR part 110.
[[Page 39482]]
1. Application for import or export of
production or utilization facilities
\4\ (including reactors and other
facilities) and exports of components
requiring Commission and Executive
Branch review, for example, actions
under 10 CFR 110.40(b).
Application--new license, or $17,700.
amendment; or license exemption
request.
2. Application for export of reactor
and other components requiring
Executive Branch review, for example,
those actions under 10 CFR 110.41(a).
Application--new license, or $9,500.
amendment; or license exemption
request.
3. Application for export of components
requiring the assistance of the
Executive Branch to obtain foreign
government assurances
Application--new license, or $4,400.
amendment; or license exemption
request.
4. Application for export of facility
components and equipment not requiring
Commission or Executive Branch review,
or obtaining foreign government
assurances.
Application--new license, or $3,300.
amendment; or license exemption
request.
5. Minor amendment of any active export
or import license, for example, to
extend the expiration date, change
domestic information, or make other
revisions which do not involve any
substantive changes to license terms
or conditions or to the type of
facility or component authorized for
export and therefore, do not require
in-depth analysis or review or
consultation with the Executive
Branch, U.S. host state, or foreign
government authorities.
Minor amendment to license......... $1,400.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Fees will not be charged for orders related to civil penalties or
other civil sanctions issued by the Commission under Sec. 2.202 of
this chapter or for amendments resulting specifically from the
requirements of these orders. For orders unrelated to civil penalties
or other civil sanctions, fees will be charged for any resulting
licensee-specific activities not otherwise exempted from fees under
this chapter. Fees will be charged for approvals issued under a
specific exemption provision of the Commission's regulations under
Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (e.g., 10 CFR 50.12, 10
CFR 73.5) and any other sections in effect now or in the future,
regardless of whether the approval is in the form of a license
amendment, letter of approval, safety evaluation report, or other
form.
\2\ Full cost fees will be determined based on the professional staff
time and appropriate contractual support services expended. For
applications currently on file and for which fees are determined based
on the full cost expended for the review, the professional staff hours
expended for the review of the application up to the effective date of
the final rule will be determined at the professional rates in effect
when the service was provided.
\3\ Inspections covered by this schedule are both routine and non-
routine safety and safeguards inspections performed by NRC for the
purpose of review or follow-up of a licensed program. Inspections are
performed through the full term of the license to ensure that the
authorized activities are being conducted in accordance with the
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, other legislation, Commission
regulations or orders, and the terms and conditions of the license.
Non-routine inspections that result from third-party allegations will
not be subject to fees.
\4\ Imports only of major components for end-use at NRC-licensed
reactors are authorized under NRC general import license in 10 CFR
110.27.
0
4. In Sec. 170.31, the table is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 170.31 Schedule of fees for materials licenses and other
regulatory services, including inspections, and import and export
licenses.
* * * * *
Schedule of Materials Fees
[See footnotes at end of table]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Category of materials licenses and type of fees
\1\ Fee 2 3
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Special nuclear material:
A. (1) Licenses for possession and use of U-
235 or plutonium for fuel fabrication
activities.
(a) Strategic Special Nuclear Material Full Cost
(High Enriched Uranium) [Program
Code(s): 21130].
(b) Low Enriched Uranium in Dispersible Full Cost
Form Used for Fabrication of Power
Reactor Fuel [Program Code(s): 21210].
(2) All other special nuclear materials
licenses not included in Category 1.A.(1)
which are licensed for fuel cycle
activities.
(a) Facilities with limited operations Full Cost.
[Program Code(s): 21310, 21320].
(b) Gas centrifuge enrichment Full Cost.
demonstration facilities.
(c) Others, including hot cell Full Cost.
facilities.
B. Licenses for receipt and storage of Full Cost.
spent fuel and reactor-related Greater
than Class C (GTCC) waste at an
independent spent fuel storage
installation (ISFSI) [Program Code(s):
23200].
C. Licenses for possession and use of
special nuclear material of less than a
critical mass, as defined in Sec. 70.4,
in sealed sources contained in devices
used in industrial measuring systems,
including x-ray fluorescence analyzers.\4\
Application [Program Code(s): 22140]... $1,300
D. All other special nuclear material
licenses, except licenses authorizing
special nuclear material in sealed or
unsealed form in combination that would
constitute a critical mass, as defined in
Sec. 70.4 of this chapter, for which the
licensee shall pay the same fees as those
under Category 1.A.\4\
Application [Program Code(s): 22110, 2,500
22111, 22120, 22131, 22136, 22150,
22151, 22161, 22170, 23100, 23300,
23310].
E. Licenses or certificates for Full Cost.
construction and operation of a uranium
enrichment facility [Program Code(s):
21200].
F. For special nuclear materials licenses Full Cost.
in sealed or unsealed form of greater than
a critical mass as defined in Sec. 70.4
of this chapter.\4\ [Program Code(s):
22155].
2. Source material:
A. (1) Licenses for possession and use of Full Cost.
source material for refining uranium mill
concentrates to uranium hexafluoride or
for deconverting uranium hexafluoride in
the production of uranium oxides for
disposal. [Program Code(s): 11400].
[[Page 39483]]
(2) Licenses for possession and use of
source material in recovery operations
such as milling, in-situ recovery,
heap-leaching, ore buying stations,
ion-exchange facilities, and in
processing of ores containing source
material for extraction of metals
other than uranium or thorium,
including licenses authorizing the
possession of byproduct waste material
(tailings) from source material
recovery operations, as well as
licenses authorizing the possession
and maintenance of a facility in a
standby mode.
(a) Conventional and Heap Leach Full Cost.
facilities [Program Code(s):
11100].
(b) Basic In Situ Recovery Full Cost.
facilities [Program Code(s):
11500].
(c) Expanded In Situ Recovery Full Cost.
facilities [Program Code(s):
11510].
(d) In Situ Recovery Resin Full Cost.
facilities [Program Code(s):
11550].
(e) Resin Toll Milling facilities Full Cost.
[Program Code(s): 11555].
(f) Other facilities [Program Full Cost.
Code(s): 11700].
(3) Licenses that authorize the receipt Full Cost.
of byproduct material, as defined in
Section 11e.(2) of the Atomic Energy
Act, from other persons for possession
and disposal, except those licenses
subject to the fees in Category
2.A.(2) or Category 2.A.(4) [Program
Code(s): 11600, 12000].
(4) Licenses that authorize the receipt Full Cost.
of byproduct material, as defined in
Section 11e.(2) of the Atomic Energy
Act, from other persons for possession
and disposal incidental to the
disposal of the uranium waste tailings
generated by the licensee's milling
operations, except those licenses
subject to the fees in Category
2.A.(2) [Program Code(s): 12010].
(5) Licenses that authorize the Full Cost.
possession of source material related
to removal of contaminants (source
material) from drinking water [Program
Code(s): 11820].
B. Licenses which authorize the possession,
use, and/or installation of source
material for shielding.
Application [Program Code(s): 11210]... $1,200
C. Licenses to distribute items containing
source material to persons exempt from the
licensing requirements of part 40 of this
chapter.
Application [Program Code(s): 11240]... 6,700
D. Licenses to distribute source material
to persons generally licensed under part
40 of this chapter.
Application [Program Codes(s): 11230, 2,000
11231].
E. Licenses for possession and use of
source material for processing or
manufacturing of products or materials
containing source material for commercial
distribution.
Application [Program Code(s): 11710]... 2,700
F. All other source material licenses.
Application [Program Code(s): 11200, 2,700
11220, 11221, 11300, 11800, 11810].
3. Byproduct material:
A. Licenses of broad scope for the
possession and use of byproduct material
issued under parts 30 and 33 of this
chapter for processing or manufacturing of
items containing byproduct material for
commercial distribution.
Application [Program Code(s): 03211, 12,700
03212, 03213].
B. Other licenses for possession and use of
byproduct material issued under part 30 of
this chapter for processing or
manufacturing of items containing
byproduct material for commercial
distribution.
Application [Program Code(s): 03214, 3,800
03215, 22135, 22162].
C. Licenses issued under Sec. Sec. 32.72
and/or 32.74 of this chapter that
authorize the processing or manufacturing
and distribution or redistribution of
radiopharmaceuticals, generators, reagent
kits, and/or sources and devices
containing byproduct material. This
category does not apply to licenses issued
to nonprofit educational institutions
whose processing or manufacturing is
exempt under Sec. 170.11(a)(4).
Application [Program Code(s): 02500, 4,800
02511, 02513].
D. [Reserved].............................. N/A
E. Licenses for possession and use of
byproduct material in sealed sources for
irradiation of materials in which the
source is not removed from its shield
(self-shielded units).
Application [Program Code(s): 03510, 3,100
03520].
F. Licenses for possession and use of less
than 10,000 curies of byproduct material
in sealed sources for irradiation of
materials in which the source is exposed
for irradiation purposes. This category
also includes underwater irradiators for
irradiation of materials where the source
is not exposed for irradiation purposes.
Application [Program Code(s): 03511]... 6,400
G. Licenses for possession and use of
10,000 curies or more of byproduct
material in sealed sources for irradiation
of materials in which the source is
exposed for irradiation purposes. This
category also includes underwater
irradiators for irradiation of materials
where the source is not exposed for
irradiation purposes.
Application [Program Code(s): 03521]... 60,700
H. Licenses issued under subpart A of part
32 of this chapter to distribute items
containing byproduct material that require
device review to persons exempt from the
licensing requirements of part 30 of this
chapter. The category does not include
specific licenses authorizing
redistribution of items that have been
authorized for distribution to persons
exempt from the licensing requirements of
part 30 of this chapter.
Application [Program Code(s): 03254, 5,000
03255].
I. Licenses issued under subpart A of part
32 of this chapter to distribute items
containing byproduct material or
quantities of byproduct material that do
not require device evaluation to persons
exempt from the licensing requirements of
part 30 of this chapter. This category
does not include specific licenses
authorizing redistribution of items that
have been authorized for distribution to
persons exempt from the licensing
requirements of part 30 of this chapter.
Application [Program Code(s): 03250, 11,200
03251, 03252, 03253, 03256].
J. Licenses issued under subpart B of part
32 of this chapter to distribute items
containing byproduct material that require
sealed source and/or device review to
persons generally licensed under part 31
of this chapter. This category does not
include specific licenses authorizing
redistribution of items that have been
authorized for distribution to persons
generally licensed under part 31 of this
chapter.
Application [Program Code(s): 03240, 2,000
03241, 03243].
[[Page 39484]]
K. Licenses issued under subpart B of part
32 of this chapter to distribute items
containing byproduct material or
quantities of byproduct material that do
not require sealed source and/or device
review to persons generally licensed under
part 31 of this chapter. This category
does not include specific licenses
authorizing redistribution of items that
have been authorized for distribution to
persons generally licensed under part 31
of this chapter.
Application [Program Code(s): 03242, $1,100
03244].
L. Licenses of broad scope for possession
and use of byproduct material issued under
parts 30 and 33 of this chapter for
research and development that do not
authorize commercial distribution.
Application [Program Code(s): 01100, 5,400
01110, 01120, 03610, 03611, 03612,
03613].
M. Other licenses for possession and use of
byproduct material issued under part 30 of
this chapter for research and development
that do not authorize commercial
distribution.
Application [Program Code(s): 03620]... 3,600
N. Licenses that authorize services for
other licensees, except:
(1) Licenses that authorize only
calibration and/or leak testing
services are subject to the fees
specified in fee Category 3.P.; and
(2) Licenses that authorize waste
disposal services are subject to the
fees specified in fee Categories 4.A.,
4.B., and 4.C.
Application [Program Code(s): 7,200
03219, 03225, 03226].
O. Licenses for possession and use of
byproduct material issued under part 34 of
this chapter for industrial radiography
operations.
Application [Program Code(s): 03310, 3,900
03320].
P. All other specific byproduct material
licenses, except those in Categories 4.A.
through 9.D.
Application [Program Code(s): 02400, 2,000
02410, 03120, 03121, 03122, 03123,
03124, 03130, 03140, 03220, 03221,
03222, 03800, 03810, 22130].
Q. Registration of a device(s) generally
licensed under part 31 of this chapter.
Registration........................... 300
R. Possession of items or products
containing radium-226 identified in 10 CFR
31.12 which exceed the number of items or
limits specified in that section.\5\
1. Possession of quantities exceeding
the number of items or limits in 10
CFR 31.12(a)(4) or (5) but less than
or equal to 10 times the number of
items or limits specified.
Application [Program Code(s): 2,500
02700].
2. Possession of quantities exceeding
10 times the number of items or limits
specified in 10 CFR 31.12(a)(4) or
(5).
Application [Program Code(s): 2,000
02710].
S. Licenses for production of accelerator-
produced radionuclides.
Application [Program Code(s): 03210]... 12,900
4. Waste disposal and processing:
A. Licenses specifically authorizing the Full Cost.
receipt of waste byproduct material,
source material, or special nuclear
material from other persons for the
purpose of contingency storage or
commercial land disposal by the licensee;
or licenses authorizing contingency
storage of low-level radioactive waste at
the site of nuclear power reactors; or
licenses for receipt of waste from other
persons for incineration or other
treatment, packaging of resulting waste
and residues, and transfer of packages to
another person authorized to receive or
dispose of waste material. [Program
Code(s): 03231, 03233, 03235, 03236,
06100, 06101].
B. Licenses specifically authorizing the
receipt of waste byproduct material,
source material, or special nuclear
material from other persons for the
purpose of packaging or repackaging the
material. The licensee will dispose of the
material by transfer to another person
authorized to receive or dispose of the
material.
Application [Program Code(s): 03234]... 5,800
C. Licenses specifically authorizing the
receipt of prepackaged waste byproduct
material, source material, or special
nuclear material from other persons. The
licensee will dispose of the material by
transfer to another person authorized to
receive or dispose of the material.
Application [Program Code(s): 03232]... 4,900
5. Well logging:
A. Licenses for possession and use of
byproduct material, source material, and/
or special nuclear material for well
logging, well surveys, and tracer studies
other than field flooding tracer studies.
Application [Program Code(s): 03110, 3,800
03111, 03112].
B. Licenses for possession and use of
byproduct material for field flooding
tracer studies.
Licensing [Program Code(s): 03113]..... Full Cost.
6. Nuclear laundries:
A. Licenses for commercial collection and
laundry of items contaminated with
byproduct material, source material, or
special nuclear material.
Application [Program Code(s): 03218]... 21,700
7. Medical licenses:
A. Licenses issued under parts 30, 35, 40,
and 70 of this chapter for human use of
byproduct material, source material, or
special nuclear material in sealed sources
contained in gamma stereotactic
radiosurgery units, teletherapy devices,
or similar beam therapy devices.
Application [Program Code(s): 02300, 8,700
02310].
B. Licenses of broad scope issued to
medical institutions or two or more
physicians under parts 30, 33, 35, 40, and
70 of this chapter authorizing research
and development, including human use of
byproduct material, except licenses for
byproduct material, source material, or
special nuclear material in sealed sources
contained in teletherapy devices. This
category also includes the possession and
use of source material for shielding when
authorized on the same license.
Application [Program Code(s): 02110]... 8,500
[[Page 39485]]
C. Other licenses issued under parts 30,
35, 40, and 70 of this chapter for human
use of byproduct material, source
material, and/or special nuclear material,
except licenses for byproduct material,
source material, or special nuclear
material in sealed sources contained in
teletherapy devices.
Application [Program Code(s): 02120, $3,300
02121, 02200, 02201, 02210, 02220,
02230, 02231, 02240, 22160].
8. Civil defense:
A. Licenses for possession and use of
byproduct material, source material, or
special nuclear material for civil defense
activities.
Application [Program Code(s): 03710]... 2,500
9. Device, product, or sealed source safety
evaluation:
A. Safety evaluation of devices or products
containing byproduct material, source
material, or special nuclear material,
except reactor fuel devices, for
commercial distribution.
Application--each device............... 5,300
B. Safety evaluation of devices or products
containing byproduct material, source
material, or special nuclear material
manufactured in accordance with the unique
specifications of, and for use by, a
single applicant, except reactor fuel
devices.
Application--each device............... 8,800
C. Safety evaluation of sealed sources
containing byproduct material, source
material, or special nuclear material,
except reactor fuel, for commercial
distribution.
Application--each source............... 5,200
D. Safety evaluation of sealed sources
containing byproduct material, source
material, or special nuclear material,
manufactured in accordance with the unique
specifications of, and for use by, a
single applicant, except reactor fuel.
Application--each source............... 1,030
10. Transportation of radioactive material:
A. Evaluation of casks, packages, and
shipping containers.
1. Spent Fuel, High-Level Waste, and Full Cost.
plutonium air packages.
2. Other Casks......................... Full Cost
B. Quality assurance program approvals
issued under part 71 of this chapter.
1. Users and Fabricators.
Application........................ 4,100
Inspections........................ Full Cost
2. Users.
Application........................ 4,100
Inspections........................ Full Cost.
C. Evaluation of security plans, route Full Cost.
approvals, route surveys, and
transportation security devices (including
immobilization devices).
11. Review of standardized spent fuel Full Cost.
facilities..
12. Special projects: Including approvals,
preapplication/licensing activities, and
inspections.
Application [Program Code: 25110].......... Full Cost.
13. A. Spent fuel storage cask Certificate of Full Cost.
Compliance..
B. Inspections related to storage of spent Full Cost.
fuel under Sec. 72.210 of this chapter..
14. A. Byproduct, source, or special nuclear
material licenses and other approvals
authorizing decommissioning, decontamination,
reclamation, or site restoration activities
under parts 30, 40, 70, 72, and 76 of this
chapter, including master materials licenses
(MMLs)..
Application [Program Code(s): 3900, 11900, Full Cost.
21135, 21215, 21240, 21325 and 22200].
B. Site-specific decommissioning activities Full Cost.
associated with unlicensed sites,
including MMLs, regardless of whether or
not the sites have been previously
licensed..
15. Import and Export licenses: Licenses issued
under part 110 of this chapter for the import
and export only of special nuclear material,
source material, tritium and other byproduct
material, and the export only of heavy water,
or nuclear grade graphite (fee categories
15.A. through 15.E.).
A. Application for export or import of
nuclear materials, including radioactive
waste requiring Commission and Executive
Branch review, for example, those actions
under 10 CFR 110.40(b).
Application--new license, or amendment; 17,700
or license exemption request.
B. Application for export or import of
nuclear material, including radioactive
waste, requiring Executive Branch review,
but not Commission review. This category
includes applications for the export and
import of radioactive waste and requires
the NRC to consult with domestic host
state authorities (i.e., Low-Level
Radioactive Waste Compact Commission, the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
etc.).
Application--new license, or amendment; 9,500
or license exemption request.
C. Application for export of nuclear
material, for example, routine reloads of
low enriched uranium reactor fuel and/or
natural uranium source material requiring
the assistance of the Executive Branch to
obtain foreign government assurances.
Application--new license, or amendment; 4,400
or license exemption request.
D. Application for export or import of
nuclear material not requiring Commission
or Executive Branch review, or obtaining
foreign government assurances.
Application--new license, or amendment; 3,300
or license exemption request..
E. Minor amendment of any active export or
import license, for example, to extend the
expiration date, change domestic
information, or make other revisions which
do not involve any substantive changes to
license terms and conditions or to the
type/quantity/chemical composition of the
material authorized for export and,
therefore, do not require in-depth
analysis, review, or consultations with
other Executive Branch, U.S. host state,
or foreign government authorities.
Minor amendment........................ 1,400
Licenses issued under part 110 of this chapter
for the import and export only of Category 1
and Category 2 quantities of radioactive
material listed in appendix P to part 110 of
this chapter (fee categories 15.F. through
15.R.).
Category 1 (Appendix P, 10 CFR Part 110)
Exports:
[[Page 39486]]
F. Application for export of appendix P
Category 1 materials requiring Commission
review (e.g. exceptional circumstance
review under 10 CFR 110.42(e)(4)) and to
obtain government-to-government consent
for this process. For additional consent
see 15.I.
Application--new license, or amendment; $15,000
or license exemption request.
G. Application for export of appendix P
Category 1 materials requiring Executive
Branch review and to obtain government-to-
government consent for this process. For
additional consents see 15.I.
Application--new license, or amendment; 8,700
or license exemption request.
H. Application for export of appendix P
Category 1 materials and to obtain one
government-to-government consent for this
process. For additional consents see 15.
I.
Application--new license, or amendment; 6,500
or license exemption request.
I. Requests for each additional government-
to-government consent in support of an
export license application or active
export license.
Application--new license, or amendment; 270
or license exemption request.
Category 2 (Appendix P, 10 CFR Part 110)
Exports:
J. Application for export of appendix P
Category 2 materials requiring Commission
review (e.g. exceptional circumstance
review under 10 CFR 110.42(e)(4)).
Application--new license, or amendment; 15,000
or license exemption request.
K. Applications for export of appendix P
Category 2 materials requiring Executive
Branch review.
Application--new license, or amendment; 8,700
or license exemption request.
L. Application for the export of Category 2
materials.
Application--new license, or amendment; 5,400
or license exemption request.
M. [Reserved].............................. N/A.
N. [Reserved].............................. N/A.
O. [Reserved].............................. N/A.
P. [Reserved].............................. N/A.
Q. [Reserved].............................. N/A.
Minor Amendments (Category 1 and 2, Appendix P,
10 CFR Part 110, Export):
R. Minor amendment of any active export
license, for example, to extend the
expiration date, change domestic
information, or make other revisions which
do not involve any substantive changes to
license terms and conditions or to the
type/quantity/chemical composition of the
material authorized for export and,
therefore, do not require in-depth
analysis, review, or consultations with
other Executive Branch, U.S. host state,
or foreign authorities.
Minor amendment........................ 1,400
16. Reciprocity: Agreement State licensees who
conduct activities under the reciprocity
provisions of 10 CFR 150.20.
Application................................ 1,800
17. Master materials licenses of broad scope
issued to Government agencies.
Application [Program Code(s): 03614]....... Full Cost.
18. U.S. Department of Energy.
A. Certificates of Compliance. Evaluation Full Cost.
of casks, packages, and shipping
containers (including spent fuel, high-
level waste, and other casks, and
plutonium air packages).
B. Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Full Cost.
Act (UMTRCA) activities.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Types of fees--Separate charges, as shown in the schedule, will be
assessed for preapplication consultations and reviews; applications
for new licenses, approvals, or license terminations; possession-only
licenses; issuances of new licenses and approvals; certain amendments
and renewals to existing licenses and approvals; safety evaluations of
sealed sources and devices; generally licensed device registrations;
and certain inspections. The following guidelines apply to these
charges:
(a) Application and registration fees. Applications for new materials
licenses and export and import licenses; applications to reinstate
expired, terminated, or inactive licenses, except those subject to
fees assessed at full costs; applications filed by Agreement State
licensees to register under the general license provisions of 10 CFR
150.20; and applications for amendments to materials licenses that
would place the license in a higher fee category or add a new fee
category must be accompanied by the prescribed application fee for
each category.
(1) Applications for licenses covering more than one fee category of
special nuclear material or source material must be accompanied by the
prescribed application fee for the highest fee category.
(2) Applications for new licenses that cover both byproduct material and
special nuclear material in sealed sources for use in gauging devices
will pay the appropriate application fee for fee category 1.C. only.
(b) Licensing fees. Fees for reviews of applications for new licenses,
renewals, and amendments to existing licenses, preapplication
consultations and other documents submitted to the NRC for review, and
project manager time for fee categories subject to full cost fees are
due upon notification by the Commission in accordance with Sec.
170.12(b).
(c) Amendment fees. Applications for amendments to export and import
licenses must be accompanied by the prescribed amendment fee for each
license affected. An application for an amendment to an export or
import license or approval classified in more than one fee category
must be accompanied by the prescribed amendment fee for the category
affected by the amendment, unless the amendment is applicable to two
or more fee categories, in which case the amendment fee for the
highest fee category would apply.
(d) Inspection fees. Inspections resulting from investigations conducted
by the Office of Investigations and nonroutine inspections that result
from third-party allegations are not subject to fees. Inspection fees
are due upon notification by the Commission in accordance with Sec.
170.12(c).
(e) Generally licensed device registrations under 10 CFR 31.5.
Submittals of registration information must be accompanied by the
prescribed fee.
\2\ Fees will not be charged for orders related to civil penalties or
other civil sanctions issued by the Commission under 10 CFR 2.202 or
for amendments resulting specifically from the requirements of these
orders. For orders unrelated to civil penalties or other civil
sanctions, fees will be charged for any resulting licensee-specific
activities not otherwise exempted from fees under this chapter. Fees
will be charged for approvals issued under a specific exemption
provision of the Commission's regulations under Title 10 of the Code
of Federal Regulations (e.g., 10 CFR 30.11, 40.14, 70.14, 73.5, and
any other sections in effect now or in the future), regardless of
whether the approval is in the form of a license amendment, letter of
approval, safety evaluation report, or other form. In addition to the
fee shown, an applicant may be assessed an additional fee for sealed
source and device evaluations as shown in fee categories 9.A. through
9.D.
\3\ Full cost fees will be determined based on the professional staff
time multiplied by the appropriate professional hourly rate
established in Sec. 170.20 in effect when the service is provided,
and the appropriate contractual support services expended.
\4\ Licensees paying fees under categories 1.A., 1.B., and 1.E. are not
subject to fees under categories 1.C., 1.D., and 1.F. for sealed
sources authorized in the same license, except for an application that
deals only with the sealed sources authorized by the license.
[[Page 39487]]
\5\ Persons who possess radium sources that are used for operational
purposes in another fee category are not also subject to the fees in
this category. (This exception does not apply if the radium sources
are possessed for storage only.)
PART 171--ANNUAL FEES FOR REACTOR LICENSES AND FUEL CYCLE LICENSES
AND MATERIALS LICENSES, INCLUDING HOLDERS OF CERTIFICATES OF
COMPLIANCE, REGISTRATIONS, AND QUALITY ASSURANCE PROGRAM APPROVALS
AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES LICENSED BY THE NRC
0
5. The authority citation for part 171 continues to read as follows:
Authority: Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act sec.
7601 Pub. L. 99-272, as amended by sec. 5601, Pub. L. 100-203 as
amended by sec. 3201, Pub. L. 101-239, as amended by sec. 6101, Pub.
L. 101-508, as amended by sec. 2903a, Pub. L. 102-486 (42 U.S.C.
2213, 2214), and as amended by Title IV, Pub. L. 109-103 (42 U.S.C.
2214); Atomic Energy Act sec. 161(w), 223, 234 (42 U.S.C. 2201(w),
2273, 2282); Energy Reorganization Act sec. 201 (42 U.S.C. 5841);
Government Paperwork Elimination Act sec. 1704 (44 U.S.C. 3504
note); Energy Policy Act of 2005 sec. 651(e), Pub. L. 109-58 (42
U.S.C. 2014, 2021, 2021b, 2111).
0
6. In Sec. 171.15, paragraph (b)(1), paragraph (b)(2) introductory
text, paragraph (c)(1), paragraphs (c)(2) introductory text and (d)(1)
introductory text, and paragraphs (d)(2), (d)(3), and (e) are revised
to read as follows:
Sec. 171.15 Annual fees: Reactor licenses and independent spent fuel
storage licenses.
* * * * *
(b)(1) The FY 2013 annual fee for each operating power reactor
which must be collected by September 30, 2013, is $4,390,000.
(2) The FY 2013 annual fees are comprised of a base annual fee for
power reactors licensed to operate, a base spent fuel storage/reactor
decommissioning annual fee, and associated additional charges (fee-
relief adjustment). The activities comprising the spent storage/reactor
decommissioning base annual fee are shown in paragraphs (c)(2)(i) and
(ii) of this section. The activities comprising the FY 2013 fee-relief
adjustment are shown in paragraph (d)(1) of this section. The
activities comprising the FY 2013 base annual fee for operating power
reactors are as follows:
* * * * *
(c)(1) The FY 2013 annual fee for each power reactor holding a 10
CFR part 50 license that is in a decommissioning or possession-only
status and has spent fuel onsite, and for each independent spent fuel
storage 10 CFR part 72 licensee who does not hold a 10 CFR part 50
license, is $231,000.
(2) The FY 2013 annual fee is comprised of a base spent fuel
storage/reactor decommissioning annual fee (which is also included in
the operating power reactor annual fee shown in paragraph (b) of this
section) and a fee-relief adjustment. The activities comprising the FY
2013 fee-relief adjustment are shown in paragraph (d)(1) of this
section. The activities comprising the FY 2013 spent fuel storage/
reactor decommissioning rebaselined annual fee are:
* * * * *
(d)(1) The fee-relief adjustment allocated to annual fees includes
a surcharge for the activities listed in paragraph (d)(1)(i) of this
section, plus the amount remaining after total budgeted resources for
the activities included in paragraphs (d)(1)(ii) and (d)(1)(iii) of
this section are reduced by the appropriations the NRC receives for
these types of activities. If the NRC's appropriations for these types
of activities are greater than the budgeted resources for the
activities included in paragraphs (d)(1)(ii) and (d)(1)(iii) of this
section for a given FY, annual fees will be reduced. The activities
comprising the FY 2013 fee-relief adjustment are as follows:
* * * * *
(2) The total FY 2013 fee-relief adjustment allocated to the
operating power reactor class of licenses is a $5.3 million fee-relief
surplus, not including the amount allocated to the spent fuel storage/
reactor decommissioning class. The FY 2013 operating power reactor fee-
relief adjustment to be assessed to each operating power reactor is
approximately a $33,920 fee relief surplus. This amount is calculated
by dividing the total operating power reactor fee-relief surplus
adjustment, $5.3 million, by the number of operating power reactors
(102).
(3) The FY 2013 fee-relief adjustment allocated to the spent fuel
storage/reactor decommissioning class of licenses is a $243,000 fee-
relief surplus. The FY 2013 spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning
fee-relief adjustment to be assessed to each operating power reactor,
each power reactor in decommissioning or possession-only status that
has spent fuel onsite, and to each independent spent fuel storage 10
CFR part 72 licensee who does not hold a 10 CFR part 50 license, is a
$2,000 fee-relief surplus. This amount is calculated by dividing the
total fee-relief adjustment costs allocated to this class by the total
number of power reactor licenses, except those that permanently ceased
operations and have no fuel onsite, and 10 CFR part 72 licensees who do
not hold a 10 CFR part 50 license.
(e) The FY 2013 annual fees for licensees authorized to operate a
research and test (nonpower) reactor licensed under part 50 of this
chapter, unless the reactor is exempted from fees under Sec.
171.11(a), are as follows:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Research reactor........................................ $81,600
Test reactor............................................ 81,600
------------------------------------------------------------------------
0
7. In Sec. 171.16:
0
a. Revise paragraphs (c), (d), and (e) introductory text to read as
follows:
Sec. 171.16 Annual fees: Materials licensees, holders of certificates
of compliance, holders of sealed source and device registrations,
holders of quality assurance program approvals, and government agencies
licensed by the NRC.
* * * * *
(c) A licensee who is required to pay an annual fee under this
section, in addition to 10 CFR part 72 licenses, may qualify as a small
entity. If a licensee qualifies as a small entity and provides the
Commission with the proper certification along with its annual fee
payment, the licensee may pay reduced annual fees as shown in the
following table. Failure to file a small entity certification in a
timely manner could result in the receipt of a delinquent invoice
requesting the outstanding balance due and/or denial of any refund that
might otherwise be due. The small entity fees are as follows:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maximum annual fee
per licensed
category
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Small Businesses Not Engaged in Manufacturing
(Average gross receipts over last 3 completed
fiscal years):
$485,000 to $7 million.......................... $2,800
Less than $485,000.............................. 600
[[Page 39488]]
Small Not-For-Profit Organizations (Annual Gross
Receipts):
$485,000 to $7 million.......................... 2,800
Less than $485,000.............................. 600
Manufacturing entities that have an average of 500
employees or fewer:
35 to 500 employees............................. 2,800
Fewer than 35 employees......................... 600
Small Governmental Jurisdictions (Including publicly
supported educational institutions) (Population):
20,000 to 50,000................................ 2,800
Fewer than 20,000............................... 600
Educational Institutions that are not State or
Publicly Supported, and have 500 Employees or Fewer
35 to 500 employees............................. 2,800
Fewer than 35 employees......................... 600
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(d) The FY 2013 annual fees are comprised of a base annual fee and
an allocation for fee-relief adjustment. The activities comprising the
FY 2013 fee-relief adjustment are shown for convenience in paragraph
(e) of this section. The FY 2013 annual fees for materials licensees
and holders of certificates, registrations, or approvals subject to
fees under this section are shown in the following table:
Schedule of Materials Annual Fees and Fees for Government Agencies
Licensed By NRC
[See footnotes at end of table]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Category of materials licenses Annual fees 1 2 3
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Special nuclear material:
A. (1) Licenses for possession and use of U-
235 or plutonium for fuel fabrication
activities.
(a) Strategic Special Nuclear $6,997,000
Material (High Enriched Uranium)
[Program Code(s): 21130].
(b) Low Enriched Uranium in 2,633,000
Dispersible Form Used for
Fabrication of Power Reactor Fuel
[Program Code(s): 21210].
(2) All other special nuclear materials
licenses not included in Category
1.A.(1) which are licensed for fuel
cycle activities.
(a) Facilities with limited \5\ N/A.
operations [Program Code(s):
21310, 21320].
(b) Gas centrifuge enrichment 1,354,000
demonstration facilities.
(c) Others, including hot cell 677,000
facilities.
B. Licenses for receipt and storage of \11\ N/A.
spent fuel and reactor-related Greater
than Class C (GTCC) waste at an
independent spent fuel storage
installation (ISFSI) [Program Code(s):
23200].
C. Licenses for possession and use of 3,600
special nuclear material of less than a
critical mass, as defined in Sec. 70.4
of this chapter, in sealed sources
contained in devices used in industrial
measuring systems, including x-ray
fluorescence analyzers.\15\ [Program
Code(s): 22140].
D. All other special nuclear material 6,800
licenses, except licenses authorizing
special nuclear material in sealed or
unsealed form in combination that would
constitute a critical mass, as defined in
Sec. 70.4 of this chapter, for which the
licensee shall pay the same fees as those
under Category 1.A.\15\ [Program Code(s):
22110, 22111, 22120, 22131, 22136, 22150,
22151, 22161, 22170, 23100, 23300, 23310].
E. Licenses or certificates for the 3,762,000
operation of a uranium enrichment facility
[Program Code(s): 21200].
F. For special nuclear materials licenses 6,900
in sealed or unsealed form of greater than
a critical mass as defined in Sec. 70.4
of this chapter.\15\ [Program Code: 22155].
2. Source material:
A. (1) Licenses for possession and use of 1,429,000
source material for refining uranium mill
concentrates to uranium hexafluoride or
for deconverting uranium hexafluoride in
the production of uranium oxides for
disposal. [Program Code: 11400].
(2) Licenses for possession and use of
source material in recovery operations
such as milling, in-situ recovery,
heap-leaching, ore buying stations,
ion-exchange facilities and in-
processing of ores containing source
material for extraction of metals
other than uranium or thorium,
including licenses authorizing the
possession of byproduct waste material
(tailings) from source material
recovery operations, as well as
licenses authorizing the possession
and maintenance of a facility in a
standby mode.
(a) Conventional and Heap Leach 27,900
facilities [Program Code(s):
11100].
(b) Basic In Situ Recovery 35,400
facilities [Program Code(s):
11500].
(c) Expanded In Situ Recovery 40,000
facilities [Program Code(s):
11510].
(d) In Situ Recovery Resin 0
facilities [Program Code(s):
11550].
(e) Resin Toll Milling facilities \5\ N/A.
[Program Code(s): 11555].
(f) Other facilities \4\ [Program \5\ N/A.
Code(s): 11700].
(3) Licenses that authorize the receipt \5\ N/A.
of byproduct material, as defined in
Section 11e.(2) of the Atomic Energy
Act, from other persons for possession
and disposal, except those licenses
subject to the fees in Category
2.A.(2) or Category 2.A.(4) [Program
Code(s): 11600, 12000].
(4) Licenses that authorize the receipt 15,800
of byproduct material, as defined in
Section 11e.(2) of the Atomic Energy
Act, from other persons for possession
and disposal incidental to the
disposal of the uranium waste tailings
generated by the licensee's milling
operations, except those licenses
subject to the fees in Category
2.A.(2) [Program Code(s): 12010].
(5) Licenses that authorize the 4,700
possession of source material related
to removal of contaminants (source
material) from drinking water [Program
Code(s): 11820].
[[Page 39489]]
B. Licenses that authorize only the $3,000
possession, use, and/or installation of
source material for shielding. [Program
Code: 11210].
C. Licenses to distribute items containing 11,500
source material to persons exempt from the
licensing requirements of part 40 of this
chapter. [Program Code: 11240].
D. Licenses to distribute source material 4,800
to persons generally licensed under part
40 of this chapter [Program Code(s): 11230
and 11231].
E. Licenses for possession and use of 7,200
source material for processing or
manufacturing of products or materials
containing source material for commercial
distribution. [Program Code: 11710].
F. All other source material licenses. 8,000
[Program Code(s): 11200, 11220, 11221,
11300, 11800, 11810].
3. Byproduct material:
A. Licenses of broad scope for possession 50,900
and use of byproduct material issued under
parts 30 and 33 of this chapter for
processing or manufacturing of items
containing byproduct material for
commercial distribution [Program Code(s):
03211, 03212, 03213].
B. Other licenses for possession and use of 12,700
byproduct material issued under part 30 of
this chapter for processing or
manufacturing of items containing
byproduct material for commercial
distribution [Program Code(s): 03214,
03215, 22135, 22162].
C. Licenses issued under Sec. Sec. 32.72 18,800
and/or 32.74 of this chapter authorizing
the processing or manufacturing and
distribution or redistribution of
radiopharmaceuticals, generators, reagent
kits, and/or sources and devices
containing byproduct material. This
category also includes the possession and
use of source material for shielding
authorized under part 40 of this chapter
when included on the same license. This
category does not apply to licenses issued
to nonprofit educational institutions
whose processing or manufacturing is
exempt under Sec. 171.11(a)(1). [Program
Code(s): 02500, 02511, 02513].
D. [Reserved].............................. \5\ N/A.
E. Licenses for possession and use of 8,700
byproduct material in sealed sources for
irradiation of materials in which the
source is not removed from its shield
(self-shielded units) [Program Code(s):
03510, 03520].
F. Licenses for possession and use of less 12,900
than 10,000 curies of byproduct material
in sealed sources for irradiation of
materials in which the source is exposed
for irradiation purposes. This category
also includes underwater irradiators for
irradiation of materials in which the
source is not exposed for irradiation
purposes [Program Code(s): 03511].
G. Licenses for possession and use of 118,000
10,000 curies or more of byproduct
material in sealed sources for irradiation
of materials in which the source is
exposed for irradiation purposes. This
category also includes underwater
irradiators for irradiation of materials
in which the source is not exposed for
irradiation purposes [Program Code(s):
03521].
H. Licenses issued under subpart A of part 9,900
32 of this chapter to distribute items
containing byproduct material that require
device review to persons exempt from the
licensing requirements of part 30 of this
chapter, except specific licenses
authorizing redistribution of items that
have been authorized for distribution to
persons exempt from the licensing
requirements of part 30 of this chapter
[Program Code(s): 03254, 03255].
I. Licenses issued under subpart A of part 19,200
32 of this chapter to distribute items
containing byproduct material or
quantities of byproduct material that do
not require device evaluation to persons
exempt from the licensing requirements of
part 30 of this chapter, except for
specific licenses authorizing
redistribution of items that have been
authorized for distribution to persons
exempt from the licensing requirements of
part 30 of this chapter [Program Code(s):
03250, 03251, 03252, 03253, 03256].
J. Licenses issued under subpart B of part 4,800
32 of this chapter to distribute items
containing byproduct material that require
sealed source and/or device review to
persons generally licensed under part 31
of this chapter, except specific licenses
authorizing redistribution of items that
have been authorized for distribution to
persons generally licensed under part 31
of this chapter [Program Code(s): 03240,
03241, 03243].
K. Licenses issued under subpart B of part 3,800
32 of this chapter to distribute items
containing byproduct material or
quantities of byproduct material that do
not require sealed source and/or device
review to persons generally licensed under
part 31 of this chapter, except specific
licenses authorizing redistribution of
items that have been authorized for
distribution to persons generally licensed
under part 31 of this chapter [Program
Code(s): 03242, 03244].
L. Licenses of broad scope for possession 16,300
and use of byproduct material issued under
parts 30 and 33 of this chapter for
research and development that do not
authorize commercial distribution [Program
Code(s): 01100, 01110, 01120, 03610,
03611, 03612, 03613].
M. Other licenses for possession and use of 9,300
byproduct material issued under part 30 of
this chapter for research and development
that do not authorize commercial
distribution [Program Code(s): 03620].
N. Licenses that authorize services for 16,700
other licensees, except: (1) Licenses that
authorize only calibration and/or leak
testing services are subject to the fees
specified in fee Category 3.P.; and (2)
Licenses that authorize waste disposal
services are subject to the fees specified
in fee categories 4.A., 4.B., and 4.C.
[Program Code(s): 03219, 03225, 03226].
O. Licenses for possession and use of 27,200
byproduct material issued under part 34 of
this chapter for industrial radiography
operations. This category also includes
the possession and use of source material
for shielding authorized under part 40 of
this chapter when authorized on the same
license [Program Code(s): 03310, 03320].
P. All other specific byproduct material 6,400
licenses, except those in Categories 4.A.
through 9.D. [Program Code(s): 02400,
02410, 03120, 03121, 03122, 03123, 03124,
03140, 03130, 03220, 03221, 03222, 03800,
03810, 22130].
Q. Registration of devices generally \13\ N/A.
licensed under part 31 of this chapter.
R. Possession of items or products
containing radium-226 identified in 10 CFR
31.12 which exceed the number of items or
limits specified in that section:\14\
1. Possession of quantities exceeding 8,800
the number of items or limits in 10
CFR 31.12(a)(4), or (5) but less than
or equal to 10 times the number of
items or limits specified [Program
Code(s): 02700].
2. Possession of quantities exceeding 8,600
10 times the number of items or limits
specified in 10 CFR 31.12(a)(4) or (5)
[Program Code(s): 02710].
S. Licenses for production of accelerator- 30,500
produced radionuclides [Program Code(s):
03210].
4. Waste disposal and processing:
[[Page 39490]]
A. Licenses specifically authorizing the \5\ N/A.
receipt of waste byproduct material,
source material, or special nuclear
material from other persons for the
purpose of contingency storage or
commercial land disposal by the licensee;
or licenses authorizing contingency
storage of low-level radioactive waste at
the site of nuclear power reactors; or
licenses for receipt of waste from other
persons for incineration or other
treatment, packaging of resulting waste
and residues, and transfer of packages to
another person authorized to receive or
dispose of waste material [Program
Code(s): 03231, 03233, 03235, 03236,
06100, 06101].
B. Licenses specifically authorizing the $19,600
receipt of waste byproduct material,
source material, or special nuclear
material from other persons for the
purpose of packaging or repackaging the
material. The licensee will dispose of the
material by transfer to another person
authorized to receive or dispose of the
material [Program Code(s): 03234].
C. Licenses specifically authorizing the 15,600
receipt of prepackaged waste byproduct
material, source material, or special
nuclear material from other persons. The
licensee will dispose of the material by
transfer to another person authorized to
receive or dispose of the material
[Program Code(s): 03232].
5. Well logging:
A. Licenses for possession and use of 12,600
byproduct material, source material, and/
or special nuclear material for well
logging, well surveys, and tracer studies
other than field flooding tracer studies
[Program Code(s): 03110, 03111, 03112].
B. Licenses for possession and use of \5\N/A.
byproduct material for field flooding
tracer studies. [Program Code(s): 03113].
6. Nuclear laundries:
A. Licenses for commercial collection and 41,000
laundry of items contaminated with
byproduct material, source material, or
special nuclear material [Program Code(s):
03218].
7. Medical licenses:
A. Licenses issued under parts 30, 35, 40, 21,600
and 70 of this chapter for human use of
byproduct material, source material, or
special nuclear material in sealed sources
contained in gamma stereotactic
radiosurgery units, teletherapy devices,
or similar beam therapy devices. This
category also includes the possession and
use of source material for shielding when
authorized on the same license. [Program
Code(s): 02300, 02310].
B. Licenses of broad scope issued to 32,900
medical institutions or two or more
physicians under parts 30, 33, 35, 40, and
70 of this chapter authorizing research
and development, including human use of
byproduct material, except licenses for
byproduct material, source material, or
special nuclear material in sealed sources
contained in teletherapy devices. This
category also includes the possession and
use of source material for shielding when
authorized on the same license.\9\
[Program Code(s): 02110].
C. Other licenses issued under parts 30, 9,000
35, 40, and 70 of this chapter for human
use of byproduct material, source
material, and/or special nuclear material,
except licenses for byproduct material,
source material, or special nuclear
material in sealed sources contained in
teletherapy devices. This category also
includes the possession and use of source
material for shielding when authorized on
the same license.\9\ [Program Code(s):
02120, 02121, 02200, 02201, 02210, 02220,
02230, 02231, 02240, 22160].
8. Civil defense:
A. Licenses for possession and use of 8,800
byproduct material, source material, or
special nuclear material for civil defense
activities [Program Code(s): 03710].
9. Device, product, or sealed source safety
evaluation:
A. Registrations issued for the safety 8,000
evaluation of devices or products
containing byproduct material, source
material, or special nuclear material,
except reactor fuel devices, for
commercial distribution.
B. Registrations issued for the safety 13,300
evaluation of devices or products
containing byproduct material, source
material, or special nuclear material
manufactured in accordance with the unique
specifications of, and for use by, a
single applicant, except reactor fuel
devices.
C. Registrations issued for the safety 7,900
evaluation of sealed sources containing
byproduct material, source material, or
special nuclear material, except reactor
fuel, for commercial distribution.
D. Registrations issued for the safety 1,600
evaluation of sealed sources containing
byproduct material, source material, or
special nuclear material, manufactured in
accordance with the unique specifications
of, and for use by, a single applicant,
except reactor fuel.
10. Transportation of radioactive material:
A. Certificates of Compliance or other
package approvals issued for design of
casks, packages, and shipping containers..
1. Spent Fuel, High-Level Waste, and \6\ N/A.
plutonium air packages.
2. Other Casks......................... \6\ N/A.
B. Quality assurance program approvals
issued under part 71 of this chapter.
1. Users and Fabricators............... \6\ N/A.
2. Users............................... \6\ N/A.
C. Evaluation of security plans, route \6\ N/A.
approvals, route surveys, and
transportation security devices (including
immobilization devices).
11. Standardized spent fuel facilities......... \6\ N/A.
12. Special Projects [Program Code(s): 25110].. \6\ N/A.
13. A. Spent fuel storage cask Certificate of \6\ N/A.
Compliance.
B. General licenses for storage of spent \12\ N/A.
fuel under 10 CFR 72.210.
14. Decommissioning/Reclamation:
A. Byproduct, source, or special nuclear \7\ N/A.
material licenses and other approvals
authorizing decommissioning,
decontamination, reclamation, or site
restoration activities under parts 30, 40,
70, 72, and 76 of this chapter, including
master materials licenses (MMLs) [Program
Code(s): 3900, 11900, 21135, 21215, 21240,
21325, 22200].
B. Site-specific decommissioning activities \7\ N/A.
associated with unlicensed sites,
including MMLs, whether or not the sites
have been previously licensed.
15. Import and Export licenses................. \8\ N/A.
16. Reciprocity................................ \8\ N/A.
17. Master materials licenses of broad scope 351,000
issued to Government agencies [Program
Code(s): 03614].
[[Page 39491]]
18. Department of Energy:
A. Certificates of Compliance.............. \10\ 1,238,000
B. Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control 700,000
Act (UMTRCA) activities.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Annual fees will be assessed based on whether a licensee held a
valid license with the NRC authorizing possession and use of
radioactive material during the current FY. The annual fee is waived
for those materials licenses and holders of certificates,
registrations, and approvals who either filed for termination of their
licenses or approvals or filed for possession only/storage licenses
before October 1, 2012, and permanently ceased licensed activities
entirely before this date. Annual fees for licensees who filed for
termination of a license, downgrade of a license, or for a possession-
only license during the FY and for new licenses issued during the FY
will be prorated in accordance with the provisions of Sec. 171.17.
If a person holds more than one license, certificate, registration, or
approval, the annual fee(s) will be assessed for each license,
certificate, registration, or approval held by that person. For
licenses that authorize more than one activity on a single license
(e.g., human use and irradiator activities), annual fees will be
assessed for each category applicable to the license.
\2\ Payment of the prescribed annual fee does not automatically renew
the license, certificate, registration, or approval for which the fee
is paid. Renewal applications must be filed in accordance with the
requirements of parts 30, 40, 70, 71, 72, or 76 of this chapter.
\3\ Each FY, fees for these materials licenses will be calculated and
assessed in accordance with Sec. 171.13 and will be published in the
Federal Register for notice and comment.
\4\ Other facilities include licenses for extraction of metals, heavy
metals, and rare earths.
\5\ There are no existing NRC licenses in these fee categories. If NRC
issues a license for these categories, the Commission will consider
establishing an annual fee for this type of license.
\6\ Standardized spent fuel facilities, 10 CFR parts 71 and 72
Certificates of Compliance and related Quality Assurance program
approvals, and special reviews, such as topical reports, are not
assessed an annual fee because the generic costs of regulating these
activities are primarily attributable to users of the designs,
certificates, and topical reports.
\7\ Licensees in this category are not assessed an annual fee because
they are charged an annual fee in other categories while they are
licensed to operate.
\8\ No annual fee is charged because it is not practical to administer
due to the relatively short life or temporary nature of the license.
\9\ Separate annual fees will not be assessed for pacemaker licenses
issued to medical institutions that also hold nuclear medicine
licenses under fee categories 7.B. or 7.C.
\10\ This includes Certificates of Compliance issued to the U.S.
Department of Energy that are not funded from the Nuclear Waste Fund.
\11\ See Sec. 171.15(c).
\12\ See Sec. 171.15(c).
\13\ No annual fee is charged for this category because the cost of the
general license registration program applicable to licenses in this
category will be recovered through 10 CFR part 170 fees.
\14\ Persons who possess radium sources that are used for operational
purposes in another fee category are not also subject to the fees in
this category. (This exception does not apply if the radium sources
are possessed for storage only.)
\15\ Licensees paying annual fees under category 1.A., 1.B., and 1.E.
are not subject to the annual fees for categories 1.C., 1.D., and 1.F.
for sealed sources authorized in the license.
(e) The fee-relief adjustment allocated to annual fees includes the
budgeted resources for the activities listed in paragraph (e)(1) of
this section, plus the total budgeted resources for the activities
included in paragraphs (e)(2) and (3) of this section, as reduced by
the appropriations the NRC receives for these types of activities. If
the NRC's appropriations for these types of activities are greater than
the budgeted resources for the activities included in paragraphs (e)(2)
and (3) of this section for a given FY, a negative fee-relief
adjustment (or annual fee reduction) will be allocated to annual fees.
The activities comprising the FY 2013 fee-relief adjustment are as
follows:
* * * * *
0
8. In Sec. 171.19, paragraph (d) is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 171.19 Payment.
* * * * *
(d) Annual Fees of less than $100,000 must be paid as billed by the
NRC. Materials license annual fees that are less than $100,000 are
billed on the anniversary date of the license. The materials licensees
that are billed on the anniversary date of the license are those
covered by fee categories 1.C., 1.D., 1.F., 2.A.(2) through 2.A.(5),
2.B. through 2.F., 3.A. through 3.F., and 3.H. through 9.D.
* * * * *
Dated at Rockville, Maryland the 21st day of June, 2013.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
J.E. Dyer,
Chief Financial Officer.
[FR Doc. 2013-15529 Filed 6-28-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P